Involvement of Opioid Receptors in the Lipid Rescue of Bupivacaine-Induced Cardiotoxicity.

Background: Lipid emulsion (LE) has been successfully used for resuscitation of local anesthetic cardiotoxicity caused by bupivacaine overdose. Opioid receptors have been shown to play a key role in cardio protection. We explored whether this rescue action of LE is mediated through opioid receptors.