Use of the new local anesthetic ropivacaine in obstetrics

All local anesthetics are associated with cardiovascular toxicity should inadvertent intravascular injection occur. The search for a safer local anesthetic led to the recent development of ropivacaine (Naropin(TM)), the first such new agent to be approved in the past two decades. Ropivacaine is similar to bupivacaine in terms of speed of onset, quality and duration of analgesia, but with a motor block that is less intense and of shorter duration. It is less arrhythmogenic than bupivacaine should intravascular injection occur. These characteristics make ropivacaine a suitable alternative to bupivacaine for epidural analgesia and anesthesia in obstetrics.