Regional anesthesia is enjoying a renaissance due in part to the advent of ultrasound guidance and the development of new techniques such as tissue plane blocks and local infiltration analgesia. The purpose of this Continuing Professional Development module is to provide practitioners with an understanding of the current state of knowledge surrounding local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) in order to help them prevent and manage this complication more effectively.

Objectives of this Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module:

After reading this module, the reader should be able to:

1. List the risk factors for local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST);
2. Formulate a plan to prevent or minimize the risk of LAST in the setting of regional anesthesia;
3. Recognize both the typical and the atypical clinical features of LAST;
4. Describe the appropriate management of the different presentations, i.e., minor and major, of LAST.