Acute convulsive reaction to surface anaesthetic: treatment by depolarizing muscle relaxant.

The occurrence of toxic reactions following the use of topically applied local anaesthetics continues to be reported intermittently in the medical literature. Most of the reactions reported are convulsive in nature and many non-fatal cases have been treated by the intravenous injection of barbiturates, inhalation of oxygen, or oxygen and carbon dioxide mixtures, and other measures. The following case of convulsive reaction to amethocaine was treated with success by the intravenous injection of a short-acting, depolarizing muscle relaxant, suxamethonium.