The effects of a 20 mg i.v. bolus of ephedrine sulphate on haemodynamics and plasma lidocaine concentrations were evaluated in eight volunteer subjects receiving a constant i.v. infusion of lidocaine HC1 (2 or 4 mg-min-1). Injection of ephedrine caused a significant increase in mean arterial blood pressure, which preceded an elevation of heart rate by about 2 min. Cardiac output and hepatic blood flow, measured at 10 and 20 min after injection, were also increased significantly, while there was a decrease in total peripheral resistance and no change in splanchnic vascular resistance. There were no significant circulatory alterations over the same period in a control group of four subjects on receiving the lidocaine infusion. After ephedrine, the mean splanchnic extraction ratio of lidocaine fell from 0.76 to 0.66 at 10 min, then rose again to 0.71 at 20 min, and these changes were accompanied by a 9% increase in its splanchnic clearance. Extraction and clearance remained unchanged in the control group. The implications of these findings are considered in relation to the use of ephedrine to prevent or treat hypotension after peridural block with local anaesthetic agents.