Q: Which drug falls under pregnancy category B?
(A). Carbocaine
(B). Marcaine
(C). Citanest
(D). Septocaine
Mini Boards Reviews for the National + Local Anesthesia + CSCE Dental Hygiene Boards Exams.
The question needs to be solved in 2 parts:
- The answer choices show brand names of drugs, but what are their generic names? Let’s memorize them here: Citanest (prilocaine), Xylocaine (lidocaine), Carbocaine (mepivacaine), Marcaine (bupivacaine), and Septocaine (articaine).
- Which drug belongs to pregnancy category B? According to the FDA, the categories you have to know for the local anesthesia dental hygiene exams (WREB, CDCA) are as follows:
- Category A: best, failed to demonstrate a risk to the human fetus in the first trimester of pregnancy.
- Category B: animal reproduction studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Amoxicillin, lidocaine, prilocaine, etc.
- Category C: animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans. Acetaminophen, rifampin (anti-TB), mepivacaine, septocaine, etc.
- Category D: positive evidence of human fetal risk. Potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks. Aspirin, phenytoin (anti-seizure), tetracycline (antibacterial), etc.
- Category X: studies in animals or humans have demonstrated fetal abnormalities. Temazepam (anti-anxiety), etc.
In general, category B drugs are safer to the fetus than category C drugs. Citanest (prilocaine) and Xylocaine (lidocaine) are labeled as pregnancy category B drugs.
Answer: (C). Citanest
How are you going to remember this for the dental hygiene board exams (NBDHE, NDHCE, WREB, CDCA)? See the image I created for StudentRDH. The image features a “Pregnant Lady.” Now, take the P in “Pregnant” and think of the local anesthetic that starts with P… You guessed right! It is prilocaine. Then, take the “L” in “Lady” and think of the local anesthetic that starts with L… You are right again! It is lidocaine. So you get it? The 2 safer anesthetics are prilocaine and lidocaine.
I hope this trick helped you. If you like to be automatically updated on free mini-reviews via videos, subscribe to StudentRDH YouTube channel by clicking HERE. Also, if you have not watched the video that gives you “weird but amazing tricks” on how to memorize local anesthetics brand/generic names, watch it today. Thank you again for trusting StudentRDH. It is my honor to provide information that may help you pass the boards!
National (NBDHE, NDHCE)+ Local Anesthesia + CSCE Dental Hygiene Boards Review by StudentRDH
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