Spinal Anesthesia Using T-cain

Choi, Kyu Taek; Cheun, Jae Kyu

Abstract

T-cain has been used for spinal anesthesia as a substitute agent for tetracaine for many years in Korea. However, no clinical study has been made since its use was started in 1971. This study was primarily undertaken to assess the clinical effects of T-cain and to compare its effects with tetracaine and lidocaine. T-cain is directly derived from tetracaine by substituting a diethyl group for a dimethyl group in tetracaine and its clinical effects are known to be similar to the tetracaine except for the duration of action of the drug that is 1 and 1/2 times longer than tetracaine. We had 52 cases of spinal anesthesia using T-cain in various doses for various surgeries. The time from the injection of the drug to the complete motor recovery was measured by Bromage scale. The level of sensory blockade checked in the recovery room was variable and unpredictable, and the motor blockade was below the knee joint level in all the cases in spite of variable dosages. As larger doses were given, the longer the duration of the motor blockade was noticed. The use of T-cain for ordinary surgery seems to be inconvenient because of its longer duration of motor paralysis with patients discomfort in the recovery room.