Bupivacaine is a local anesthetic drug. It belongs to the amide group of local anesthetics. Bupivacaine is on the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines.
Trade names
Marcaine, Marcain, Sensorcaine, Vivacaine
Available concentrations
0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%
Chemical structure
Bupivacaine
Uses
- local infiltration
- peripheral nerve blocks
- spinal anesthesia
- epidural anesthesia and analgesia
- caudal block
Mechanism of action
Bubivacaine binds to the intracellular portion of voltage-gated sodium chanels on the axonal membrane. This prevents inward current of sodium ions without which there is no depolarization of the membrane and consequently no initiation nor propagation of action potentials.
