Pontocaine® Solutions for Regional Analgesia Other Than Spinal and Epidural Block

Nerve block and local infiltration analgesia is often one of the important parts of a doctor's armamentarium. For years procaine hydrochloride (novocain®) has been the standard local anesthetic agent in most hospitals throughout the country. It meets Labat's requirements of a desirable local anesthetic agent:1(1) ease of sterilization; (2) ready and complete solubility in cold isotonic salt solutions in such concentrations as actually are used for induction of regional analgesia; (3) rapid and complete absorption locally, leaving no traces of its passage at the site of injection; (4) low toxicity, both when used in weak solutions and in such doses as are sufficient to produce surgical anesthesia; (5) ability to produce rapid onset of anesthesia; (6) one that is not decomposed by addition of a vasopressor, and (7) one that is not irritating to the tissue. Deaths have occurred during the use of procaine, but, since the acceptable