Lymphocyte traffic effects of systemic and local lidocaine in sheep.

The traffic of lymphocytes through lymphoid tissues is of importance in both the initiation and development of the immune response. The effects of lidocaine on lymphocyte traffic through primary peripheral lymph nodes of sheep (popliteal and pre-femoral) was investigated by three routes of lidocaine administration. Infiltration of lidocaine above the study node and as the sole anesthetic agent for study node efferent lymphatic cannulation produced mild depressions in lymphocyte outputs into study node efferent lymph. This depression was comparable to that encountered with regional epidural anesthesia for similar operations, but was significantly less than that associated with general anesthesia (P less than 0.000015). In animals with established chronic cannulation of study node efferent lymphatics, both study node drainage area injection of lidocaine and systemic administration of lidocaine (intravenously by bolus injection at a distant site) produced prompt and sharp depressions in lymphocyte traffic as mirrored in the output of lymphocytes into study node efferent lymph. The output of both small recirculating lymphocytes and of blast lymphocytes was affected.