Open AccessAre local anesthesia vials similar to champagne: Do they lose their potency once opened?: An in vitro study
Author(s) -
PS Gopinath Thilak,
Sameep S. Shetty,
Jagadish Chandra,
K. M. Govinde Gowda
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
contemporary clinical dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.289
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 0976-237X
pISSN - 0976-2361
DOI - 10.4103/ccd.ccd_540_17
Subject(s) - vial , anesthesia , local anesthetic , anesthetic , lidocaine , sodium metabisulfite , medicine , mepivacaine , potency , chemistry , chromatography , in vitro , biochemistry , food science
Epinephrine is volatile and unstable on exposure to air. Addition of sodium metabisulfite as an antioxidant has been effective, but there are no clear-cut consensus on its efficiency in retarding the oxidation that sets in once the anesthetic vials are kept open with a needle in situ . There is a paucity of scientific data regarding the risks of reuse of anesthetic vials following the use of cartridges, a common practice in western countries. It is our endeavor to shed light on the constant change in pH, drug deterioration, and instability that sets in an anesthetic vial with a needle in situ .