Two possible N-hydroxyamide metabolites of lidocaine were synthesized and characterized. A combined technique utilizing chemical-ionization mass spectrometry and stable isotope labeling demonstrated that these potentially carcinogenic N-hydroxyamides were neither present in human urine after oral lidocaine administration nor during intravenous infusion of lidocaine for the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias. However, small amounts of 2,6-dimethylphenylhydroxylamine were detected in the urine of all subjects. Mutagenesis assays using the Ames test showed that neither the N-hydroxyamides nor the N-hydroxyarylamine produced revertant colonies above background levels using the Salmonella tester strain TA-1538.