Epidural Analgesia in Sheep and Goats: A Review of Recent Literature

Abstract

This study was carried out to review the current literature concerning recent advances in the techniques, drugs and drug combinations used to induce epidural analgesia in sheep and goats. Data bases such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar were searched using key words such as small ruminant anesthesia, local anesthesia in ruminants, and epidural analgesia in sheep and goats to retrieve recently published articles in this subject. Only articles published between 2007 and 2016 were considered. Relevant references in the bibliographies of included articles were also retrieved for review. A total of 14 research papers (7 in sheep and 7 in goats) published in refereed journals between 2007 and 2016 were reviewed. The lumbosacral space was used in 9 and the first intercoccygeal space was used in one article. The most common drugs used to induce epidural analgesia in sheep and goats were 2% lidocaine with and without epinephrine, bupivacaine, ropivacaine, magnesium sulphate, xylazine, ketamine, and tramadol, methadone, and morphine. The results of these studies indicated adequate analgesia for surgical operations of the perineum could be safely concluded in sheep and goats using any of the discussed drugs or their combinations.