Shortage of injectable bupivacaine

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists reports a shortage of injectable bupivacaine. This drug shortage logically follows the shortage of various lidocaine presentations. The local anesthesia produced by bupivacaine is much longer lasting than lidocaine, thus it is normally used for surgical procedures that take longer. If correctly administered without accidentally getting it into the venous circulation, bupivacaine causes few problems. If such an accident occurs, however, bupivacaine is toxic to the heart and will also cause various central nervous system symptoms ranging from unpleasant to dangerous.