Abstract:
To compare the procedural failure rate (PFR), intraoperative rescue analgesia (iRA) probability and postoperative duration of motor block after epidural and intrathecal anaesthesia in dogs undergoing pelvic limb orthopaedic surgery. Prospective, randomized clinical trial. Ninety-two client-owned dogs. Dogs were assigned randomly to receive either lumbosacral epidural anaesthesia (EA) (bupivacaine 0.5% and morphine 1%) or intrathecal anaesthesia with the same drugs in a hyperbaric solution (HIA). Inaccurate positioning of the needle, assessed by radiographic imaging, and lack of cerebral spinal fluid outflow were considered procedural failures (PFs) of EA and HIA, respectively. Fentanyl (1 μg kg(-1) IV) was provided for intraoperative rescue analgesia, when either the heart rate or the mean arterial pressure increased by 30% above the pre-stimulation value. Its use was recorded as a sign of intraoperative analgesic failure. The motor block resolution was evaluated postoperatively. Variables were compared using Fisher’s exact test, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kaplan-Meier ‘survival’ analysis as relevant.
Sarotti, Rabozzi, Franci, , , , , , (2015). Comparison of epidural versus intrathecal anaesthesia in dogs undergoing pelvic limb orthopaedic surgery. Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia, 2015 Jul;42(4):405-13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25287980