It is clinically used for infiltration anesthesia, epidural anesthesia and conduction anesthesia for various operations. The maximum dosage at one time is 60 mg, 0.5% to 1% solution is used for infiltration anesthesia; 2% and 3% solutions are used for nerve block anesthesia and epidural anesthesia. Children should be given medication as appropriate.
Prilocaine is a local anesthetic of the amino amide type. In its injectable form (trade name Citanest), it is often used in dentistry. It is also often combined with lidocaine as a preparation for dermal anesthesia, for treatment of conditions like paresthesia. As it has low cardiac toxicity, it is commonly used for intravenous regional anaesthesia (IVRA). In some patients, a metabolite of prilocaine may cause the unusual side effect of methemoglobinemia, which may be treated with methylene blue. Maximum dosage for dental use: 8.0 mg/kg (2.7 mg/lb), with a maximum dose of 500 mg. Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics (EMLA) containing 5% lidocaine and prilocaine in a cream was found to give effective topical analgesia in normal and diseased skin, making it useful for superficial surgery and various other clinical procedures. To be effective, an adequate amount must be applied under occlusion and at the right time before the intervention.