Contributor: Sam Killian, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Classic dogma teaching that epinephrine should not be used in the fingers, nose, penis, and toes when performing local anesthesia due to concerns for ischemia is wrong
• This has been well documented in multiple literature reviews
• A prospective, randomized double-blind study compared lidocaine vs lidocaine with epinephrine for finger injuries and the use of epinephrine was associated with less bleeding and better anesthesia

Editor's note: in the lidocaine without epinephrine group, 5 (not 7) needed additional dosing of local anesthesia. The groups were also split 29 for lidocaine alone and 31 for lidocaine with epinephrine but we're in a pandemic so who is noticing anyways

References

1. 1. Wilhelmi, B.J., et al. Do not use epinephrine in digital blocks: myth or truth? Plast Reconstr Surg. 2001 Feb;107(2):393-7.
2. 2. Ilicki, J. Safety of Epinephrine in Digital Nerve Blocks: A Literature Review. J Emerg Med. 2015 Nov;49(5):799-809. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.05.038. Epub 2015 Aug 4.
3. 3. Walsh, K., Baker, B.G., Iyer, S. Adrenaline Auto-injector injuries to digits; a systematic review and recommendations for emergency management. 2020 Feb 8. pii: S1479-666X(20)30016-0. doi: 10.1016/j.surge.2020.01.005.

Summarized by Jackson Roos, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD