Abstract
BackgroundEpidural anaesthesia is one of the most commonly used locoregional techniques in ruminants. The lumbosacral epidural technique is reasonably easy to perform and requires low volumes of local anaesthetic drug to allow procedures caudal to the umbilicus. However, surgical procedures in the flank of the animal would require an increased volume of drugs. The anaesthetized area provided by thoracic epidural technique is larger than the lumbosacral technique; however the former is rather challenging to perform. Therefore, access through lumbosacral area to introduce a catheter into the thoracolumbar space is a potential alternative to thoracic access. Epidural anaesthesia is achieved with local anaesthetics; opioids can be added to improve analgesia. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of 0.5% bupivacaine with or without methadone, administered through an epidural catheter inserted through the lumbosacral access and advanced to the thoracolumbar space, on thoracolumbar epidural anaesthesia in goats.MethodsSix animals received two treatments each in a randomized crossover study: BUP treatment consisted of 0.5% bupivacaine (1 mL per each 10 cm of spine column; 1 ± 0.2 mg/kg BW) and BMT treatment was the same; however 1 mL of bupivacaine was replaced by 1 mL (0.22 ± 0.03 mg/kg BW) of methadone (10 mg/mL). The treatments were administered near to T11-T12 through an epidural catheter. Motor blockade and analgesia were evaluated by electrical stimulation.ResultsHeart rate, respiratory rate, ruminal motility and rectal temperature were evaluated before and after the treatment. Motor blockade was observed on both treatments, up to 6 h post-treatment. Analgesia was observed on BUP up to 4 h and on BMT up to 6 h post-treatment. Physiological values did not change at any moment.ConclusionsBupivacaine-methadone combination promoted longer-lasting analgesia in goats compared to bupivacaine alone when administered through an epidural catheter into the thoracolumbar space.
Highlights
Epidural anaesthesia is one of the most commonly used locoregional techniques in ruminants
Epidural anaesthesia, achieved with epidural injection of a local anaesthetic drug, can be applied at any point along the animal’s spine [3]; one of the most common areas is the lumbosacral region [4]. This access promotes dose-dependent anaesthesia over a potentially wide region, from innervations caudal to the diaphragm to the pelvic limbs, enabling surgical procedures performed through the flank area of the animal (Skarda [6]; reviewed in Plummer and Schleining [4])
The blocked area in thoracolumbar anaesthesia can reach from C6 to L4 depending on the volume of anaesthetic used, without motor blockade of the pelvic limbs, favouring abdominal surgery such as laparotomy and splenectomy [11, 12]
Summary
Epidural anaesthesia is one of the most commonly used locoregional techniques in ruminants. Epidural anaesthesia, achieved with epidural injection of a local anaesthetic drug, can be applied at any point along the animal’s spine [3]; one of the most common areas is the lumbosacral region [4] This access promotes dose-dependent anaesthesia over a potentially wide region, from innervations caudal to the diaphragm to the pelvic limbs (reviewed by Galatos [5]), enabling surgical procedures performed through the flank area of the animal (Skarda [6]; reviewed in Plummer and Schleining [4]). The blocked area in thoracolumbar anaesthesia can reach from C6 to L4 depending on the volume of anaesthetic used, without motor blockade of the pelvic limbs, favouring abdominal surgery such as laparotomy and splenectomy [11, 12]
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