Introduction: We examined if epinephrine in the local anesthetic to help control incision-related bleeding interferes with molecular measurements obtained with the Duchenne-Bergström percutaneous needle biopsy technique for sampling human skeletal muscle.
Methods: Three groups received 2.5-3.0 ml of 1% lidocaine in 2 injections: (1) 0.5-1.0 ml superficially, which varied among the groups according to (i) -Epi; intra- and subcutaneous without epinephrine, (ii) +Epi -Fascia; intra- and subcutaneous with epinephrine, avoiding the fascia, and (iii) +Epi +Fascia; intra- and subcutaneous with epinephrine, directing a small amount (∽0.2 ml) into the fascia area; and (2) ∽2.0 ml without epinephrine into the fascia area for all subjects. A muscle biopsy was obtained 5-10 min later for IL-6 and MuRF-1 mRNA levels.
Results: IL-6 mRNA levels were low in -Epi and +Epi -Fascia, but ∽300-fold higher in +Epi +Fascia. MuRF-1 mRNA levels were similar among the groups.
Conclusions: Lidocaine with epinephrine can confound intramuscular measurements from needle biopsies, but this can be avoided with a careful injection approach.
Keywords: IL-6; MuRF-1; epinephrine; lidocaine; xylocaine.
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