Lidocaine, also known as lignocaine and sold under the brand name Xylocaine among others, is a local anesthetic of the amino amide type. It is also used to treat ventricular tachycardia.[1][2] When used for local anaesthesia or in nerve blocks, lidocaine typically begins working within several minutes and lasts for half an hour to three hours.[2][3] Lidocaine mixtures may also be applied directly to the skin or mucous membranes to numb the area.[2] It is often used mixed with a small amount of adrenaline (epinephrine) to prolong its local effects and to decrease bleeding.[2] See also [1].
Lidocaine alters signal conduction in neurons by prolonging the inactivation of the fast voltage-gated Na+ channels in the neuronal cell membrane responsible for action potential propagation.
