Ropivacaine Mesylate

Ropivacaine is a local anaesthetic drug belonging to the amino amide group. The name ropivacaine refers to both the racemate and the marketed S-enantiomer. Ropivacaine hydrochloride is commonly marketed by AstraZeneca under the trade name Naropin.

Ropivacaine is indicated for local anaesthesia including infiltration, nerve block, epidural and intrathecal anaesthesia in adults and children over 12 years. It is also indicated for peripheral nerve block and caudal epidural in children 1-12 years for surgical pain. It is also sometimes used for infiltration anaesthesia for surgical pain in children.

Ropivacaine is often coadministered with fentanyl for epidural analgesia, for example in pregnant women during labour.

As for bupivacaine, Celepid, a commonly available intravenous lipid emulsion, can be effective in treating severe cardiotoxicity secondary to local anaesthetic overdose in animal experiments and in humans in a process called lipid rescue.