Intravenous Lipid Emulsion for the Treatment of Perioperative Cocaine Intoxication

Symptomatic cocaine intoxication in the preoperative period is a potentially life-threatening condition, especially before emergent surgery. The anesthesiologist is faced with a dilemma where the patient is deemed unsafe for induction of general anesthesia but also in need of immediate surgical intervention. Cocaine is a local anesthetic and, as such, has been proposed to respond to lipid emulsion treatment as other local anesthetics would. We present a case supporting this statement and review the relevant published literature on the topic.