Lidocaine Dose Calculator

We created this lidocaine dose calculator to help you determine the maximum allowable subcutaneous dose of lidocaine.

Lidocaine is the most commonly used local anesthetic in many medical specialties. Although lidocaine has a good safety margin before it causes toxicity, it is crucial to be aware of the maximum allowable subcutaneous dose to avoid serious health complications. Whether you're a medical professional or a patient, come along and learn how to calculate the max dose of lidocaine, how lidocaine works, how the lidocaine dose calculator works, who should not use lidocaine, and more!

We try our best to make our Omni Calculators as precise and reliable as possible. However, this tool can never replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All information on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to and should not serve as a substitute for medical consultation. Always seek the advice of a health provider.

Lidocaine, sometimes referred to as lignocaine, is a local anesthetic mainly used to prevent or alleviate pain caused by uncomfortable medical procedures – physicians also use it to suppress abnormal rhythms of the heart (cardiac arrhythmias). This amino amide-type local anesthetic works by blocking the nerves from sending pain signals. The effects of lidocaine usually last at least 20 minutes, and its half-life (the amount of time it takes for a drug's concentration in the blood plasma to reduce by half) is around 90-120 minutes. You can learn more about this concept using drug half-life calculator.

Lidocaine is mainly well-tolerated, with hypersensitivity reaction being a rare occasion. However, it can reach toxic blood levels, causing direct nerve toxicity at the injection site, as well as systemic toxicity affecting the brain. Although lidocaine toxicity depends not only on the total dose administered but also on the absorption rate, it is essential to be cautious to avoid administering a toxic dose of lidocaine.

Calculating the maximum allowable subcutaneous lidocaine dose (without epinephrine) according to weight is relatively straightforward.

For calculating the maximum allowable dose in mg, use the formula below:

dose(mg) = 4.5 × weight

where:

• dose(mg) – Maximum allowable subcutaneous lidocaine dose according to your weight in mg;
• 4.5 – Represents maximum allowable subcutaneous lidocaine dose per kg (i.e., mg/kg); and
• weight – Your weight in kg.

For calculating the maximum allowable dose in ml, use the following formula:

dose(ml) = 4.5 × (weight / 10) × (1 / concentration)

where

• dose(ml) – Maximum allowable subcutaneous lidocaine dose according to your weight in ml; and
• concentration – Lidocaine concentration percentage.

Since you're using a lidocaine dosage calculator, you may also be interested in checking out injury severity score calculator and dosage calculator, to learn more about the assessment of trauma severity and the dosages of different kinds of medication, respectively.

Now that you know how to calculate the maximum allowable subcutaneous dose of lidocaine, let's discuss how the lidocaine dose calculator works:

1. Enter the weight in the unit of your convenience.
2. Chose concentration of lidocaine (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 3%, or 4%).
3. Voila! The calculator will determine the maximum allowable subcutaneous dose of lidocaine in mg and ml.