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4% Citanest® Plain Dental
(prilocaine hydrochloride) Injection, USP
For Local Anesthesia in Dentistry
4% Citanest Plain Dental (prilocaine HCI Injection, USP), is a sterile, non-pyrogenic isotonic solution that contains a local anesthetic agent and is administered parenterally by injection. See INDICATIONS AND USAGE for specific uses. The quantitative composition is shown in Table 1.
4% Citanest Plain Dental contains prilocaine HCl, which is chemically designated as propanamide, N-(2- methyl-phenyl) -2- (propylamino)-, monohydrochloride and has the following structural formula:
 |
Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration.
The specific quantitative composition is shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1: COMPOSITION
| Product Identification | Formula (mg/mL) | |
| Prilocaine HCl | pH | |
| 4% Citanest® Plain Dental | 40.0 | 6.0 to 7.0 |
Note: Sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid may be used to adjust the pH of 4% Citanest Plain Dental Injection.
Swelling and persistent paresthesia of the lips and oral tissues may occur. Persistent paresthesias lasting weeks to months, and in rare instances paresthesia lasting greater than one year, have been reported.
Adverse experiences following the administration of prilocaine are similar in nature to those observed with other amide local anesthetic agents. These adverse experiences are, in general, dose-related and may result from high plasma levels caused by excessive dosage, rapid absorption or unintentional intravascular injection, or may result from a hypersensitivity, idiosyncrasy or diminished tolerance on the part of the patient. Serious adverse experiences are generally systemic in nature. The following types are those most commonly reported:
CNS manifestations are excitatory and/or depressant and may be characterized by lightheadedness, nervousness, apprehension, euphoria, confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, tinnitus, blurred or double vision, vomiting, sensations of heat, cold or numbness, twitching, tremors, convulsions, unconsciousness, respiratory depression, and arrest. The excitatory manifestations may be very brief or may not occur at all, in which case the first manifestation of toxicity may be drowsiness merging into unconsciousness and respiratory arrest.
Drowsiness following the administration of prilocaine is usually an early sign of a high blood level of the drug and may occur as a consequence of rapid absorption.
Cardiovascular manifestations are usually depressant and are characterized by bradycardia, hypotension, and cardiovascular collapse, which may lead to cardiac arrest.
Signs and symptoms of depressed cardiovascular function may commonly result from a vasovagal reaction, particularly if the patient is in an upright position. Less commonly, they may result from a direct effect of the drug. Failure to recognize the premonitory signs such as sweating, a feeling of faintness, changes in pulse or sensorium may result in progressive cerebral hypoxia and seizure or serious cardiovascular catastrophe. Management consists of placing the patient in the recumbent position and ventilation with oxygen. Supportive treatment of circulatory depression may require the administration of intravenous fluids, and, when appropriate, a vasopressor (e.g., ephedrine) as directed by the clinical situation.
Allergic reactions are characterized by cutaneous lesions, urticaria, edema, or anaphylactoid reactions. Allergic reactions as a result of sensitivity to prilocaine are extremely rare and, if they occur, should be managed by conventional means. The detection of sensitivity by skin testing is of doubtful value.
The incidences of adverse reactions (e.g., persistent neurologic deficit) associated with the use of local anesthetics may be related to the technique employed, the total dose of local anesthetic administered, the particular drug used, the route of administration, and the physical condition of the patient.
Patients who are administered local anesthetics are at increased risk of developing methemoglobinemia when concurrently exposed to the following drugs, which could include other local anesthetics:
Examples of Drugs Associated with Methemoglobinemia
| Class | Examples |
| Nitrates/Nitrites | nitric oxide, nitroglycerin, nitroprusside, nitrous oxide |
| Local anesthetics | articaine, benzocaine, bupivacaine, lidocaine, mepivacaine, prilocaine, procaine, ropivacaine, tetracaine |
| Antineoplastic agents | cyclophosphamide, flutamide, hydroxyurea, ifosfamide, rasburicase |
| Antibiotics | dapsone, nitrofurantoin, para-aminosalicylic acid, sulfonamides |
| Antimalarials | chloroquine, primaquine |
| Anticonvulsants | Phenobarbital, phenytoin, sodium valproate |
| Other drugs | acetaminophen, metoclopramide, quinine, sulfasalazine |
Concurrent administration of vasopressor drugs and ergot-type oxytocic drugs may cause severe, persistent hypertension or cerebrovascular accidents.
The intramuscular injection of prilocaine may result in an increase in creatine phosphokinase levels. Thus, the use of this enzyme determination, without isoenzyme separation, as a diagnostic test for the presence of acute myocardial infarction may be compromised by the intramuscular injection of prilocaine.
DENTAL PRACTITIONERS WHO EMPLOY LOCAL ANESTHETIC AGENTS SHOULD BE WELL VERSED IN DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF EMERGENCIES THAT MAY ARISE FROM THEIR USE. RESUSCITATIVE EQUIPMENT, OXYGEN AND OTHER RESUSCITATIVE DRUGS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE USE.
Cases of methemoglobinemia have been reported in association with local anesthetic use. Although all patients are at risk for methemoglobinemia, patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, congenital or idiopathic methemoglobinemia, cardiac or pulmonary compromise, infants under 6 months of age, and concurrent exposure to oxidizing agents or their metabolites are more susceptible to developing clinical manifestations of the condition. If local anesthetics must be used in these patients, close monitoring for symptoms and signs of methemoglobinemia is recommended.
Signs of methemoglobinemia may occur immediately or may be delayed some hours after exposure, and are characterized by a cyanotic skin discoloration and/or abnormal coloration of the blood. Methemoglobin levels may continue to rise; therefore, immediate treatment is required to avert more serious central nervous system and cardiovascular adverse effects, including seizures, coma, arrhythmias, and death. Discontinue CITANEST and any other oxidizing agents. Depending on the severity of the signs and symptoms, patients may respond to supportive care, i.e., oxygen therapy, hydration. A more severe clinical presentation may require treatment with methylene blue, exchange transfusion, or hyperbaric oxygen.
To minimize the likelihood of intravascular injection, aspiration should be performed before the local anesthetic solution is injected. If blood is aspirated, the needle must be repositioned until no return of blood can be elicited by aspiration. Note, however, that the absence of blood in the syringe does not assure that intravascular injection will be avoided.
The safety and effectiveness of prilocaine depend on proper dosage, correct technique, adequate precautions, and readiness for emergencies. Standard textbooks should be consulted for specific techniques and precautions for various regional anesthetic procedures. Resuscitative equipment, oxygen, and other resuscitative drugs should be available for immediate use. (See WARNINGS and ADVERSE REACTIONS.) The lowest dosage that results in effective anesthesia should be used to avoid high plasma levels and serious adverse effects. Repeated doses of prilocaine may cause significant increases in blood levels with each repeated dose because of slow accumulation of the drug or its metabolites. Tolerance to elevated blood levels varies with the status of the patient. Debilitated, elderly patients, acutely ill patients, and children should be given reduced doses commensurate with their age and physical status. Prilocaine should also be used with caution in patients with severe shock or heart block.
Cardiovascular and respiratory (adequacy of ventilation) vital signs and the patient’s state of consciousness should be monitored after each local anesthetic injection. Restlessness, anxiety, tinnitus, dizziness, blurred vision, tremors, depression or drowsiness should alert the practitioner to the possibility of central nervous system toxicity. Signs and symptoms of depressed cardiovascular function may commonly result from a vasovagal reaction, particularly if the patient is in an upright position. (See ADVERSE REACTIONS, Cardiovascular System).
Since amide-type local anesthetics are metabolized by the liver, prilocaine should be used with caution in patients with hepatic disease.
Patients with severe hepatic disease, because of their inability to metabolize local anesthetics normally, are at greater risk of developing toxic plasma concentrations. Prilocaine should also be used with caution in patients with impaired cardiovascular function since they may be less able to compensate for functional changes associated with the prolongation of A-V conduction produced by these drugs.
Many drugs used during the conduct of anesthesia are considered potential triggering agents for familial malignant hyperthermia. Since it is not known whether amide-type local anesthetics may trigger this reaction and since the need for supplemental general anesthesia cannot be predicted in advance, it is suggested that a standard protocol for the management of malignant hyperthermia should be available. Early unexplained signs of tachycardia, tachypnea, labile blood pressure, and metabolic acidosis may precede temperature elevation. Successful outcome is dependent on early diagnosis, prompt discontinuance of the suspect triggering agent(s) and institution of treatment, including oxygen therapy, indicated supportive measures and dantrolene (consult dantrolene sodium intravenous package insert before using).
Prilocaine should be used with caution in persons with known drug sensitivities. Patients allergic to paraaminobenzoic acid derivatives (procaine, tetracaine, benzocaine, etc.) have not shown cross sensitivity to prilocaine.
Small doses of local anesthetics injected into the head and neck area, including retrobulbar, dental and stellate ganglion blocks, may produce adverse reactions similar to systemic toxicity seen with unintentional intravascular injections of larger doses. Confusion, convulsions, respiratory depression and/or respiratory arrest, and cardiovascular stimulation or depression have been reported. These reactions may be due to intra-arterial injection of the local anesthetic with retrograde flow to the cerebral circulation. Patients receiving these blocks should have their circulation and respiration monitored and be constantly observed. Resuscitative equipment and personnel for treating adverse reactions should be immediately available. Dosage recommendations should not be exceeded. (See DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION.)
Inform patients that use of local anesthetics may cause methemoglobinemia, a serious condition that must be treated promptly. Advise patients or caregivers to seek immediate medical attention if they or someone in their care experience the following signs or symptoms: pale, gray, or blue colored skin (cyanosis); headache; rapid heart rate; shortness of breath; lightheadedness; or fatigue.
The patient should be informed of the possibility of temporary loss of sensation and muscle function following infiltration or nerve block injections.
The patient should be advised to consult the dentist if anesthesia persists, or if a rash develops.
Studies of prilocaine in animals to evaluate the carcinogenic and mutagenic potential or the effect on fertility have not been conducted.
Chronic oral toxicity studies of ortho-toluidine, a metabolite of prilocaine, in mice (150 to 4800 mg/kg) and rats (150 to 800 mg/kg) have shown that ortho-toluidine is a carcinogen in both species. The lowest dose corresponds to approximately 50 times the maximum amount of ortho-toluidine to which a 50 kg subject would be expected to be exposed following a single injection (8 mg/kg) of prilocaine.
Ortho-toluidine (0.5 mg/mL) showed positive results in Escherichia coli DNA repair and phage-induction assays. Urine concentrates from rats treated with ortho-toluidine (300 mg/kg, orally) were mutagenic for Salmonella typhimurium with metabolic activation. Several other tests, including reverse mutations in five different Salmonella typhimurium strains with or without metabolic activation and single strand breaks in DNA of V79 Chinese hamster cells, were negative.
Pregnancy Category B. Reproduction studies have been performed in rats at doses up to 30 times the human dose and revealed no evidence of impaired fertility or harm to the fetus due to prilocaine. There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response. General consideration should be given to this fact before administering prilocaine to women of childbearing potential, especially during early pregnancy when maximum organogenesis takes place.
It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when prilocaine is administered to a nursing woman.
Dosages in children should be reduced, commensurate with age, body weight, and physical condition. (See DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION.)
Prilocaine stabilizes the neuronal membrane by inhibiting the ionic fluxes required for the initiation and conduction of impulses, thereby effecting local anesthetic action.
When used for infiltration injection in dental patients, the time of onset of anesthesia averages less than 2 minutes with an average duration of soft tissue anesthesia of approximately 2 hours.
Based on electrical stimulation studies, 4% Citanest Plain Dental Injection provides a duration of pulpal anesthesia of approximately 10 minutes in maxillary infiltration injections. In clinical studies, this has been found to provide complete anesthesia for procedures lasting an average of 20 minutes.
When used for inferior alveolar nerve block, the time of onset of 4% Citanest Plain Dental Injection averages less than three minutes with an average duration of soft tissue anesthesia of approximately 2 ½hours.
Excessive blood levels may cause changes in cardiac output, total peripheral resistance, and mean arterial pressure. These changes may be attributable to a direct depressant effect of the local anesthetic agent on various components of the cardiovascular system.
Information derived from diverse formulations, concentrations and usages reveals that prilocaine is completely absorbed following parenteral administration, its rate of absorption depending, for example, upon such factors as the site of administration and the presence or absence of a vasoconstrictor agent. Prilocaine is metabolized in both the liver and the kidney and excreted via the kidney. It is not metabolized by plasma esterases. Hydrolysis of prilocaine by amidases yields ortho-toluidine and Npropylalanine. Both of these compounds may undergo ring hydroxylation.
O-toluidine has been found to produce methemoglobin, both in vitro and in vivo (see ADVERSE REACTIONS).
Because prilocaine is metabolized in both the liver and kidneys, hepatic and renal dysfunction may alter prilocaine kinetics.
As with other local anesthetic agents, the plasma binding of prilocaine may be dependent on drug concentration. At 0.5 to 1.0 mg/mL, it is 55% protein bound.
Prilocaine crosses the blood-brain and placental barriers, presumably by passive diffusion.
Factors such as acidosis and the use of CNS stimulants and depressants affect the CNS levels of prilocaine required to produce overt systemic effects. In the rhesus monkey, arterial blood levels of 20 mg/mL have been shown to be the threshold for convulsive activity.
No information provided. Please refer to the WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS sections.
