Adjuvant Drugs for Peripheral Nerve Blocks: The Role of NMDA Antagonists, Neostigmine, Epinephrine, and Sodium Bicarbonate.

The potential for misuse, overdose, and chronic use has led researchers to look for other methods to decrease opioid consumption in patients with acute and chronic pain states. The use of peripheral nerve blocks for surgery has gained increasing popularity as it minimizes peripheral pain signals from the nociceptors of local tissue sustaining trauma and inflammation from surgery. The individualization of peripheral nerve blocks using adjuvant drugs has the potential to improve patient outcomes and reduce chronic pain.