Journal of the South African Veterinary Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Caudal epidural analgesia using lidocaine alone or in combination with ketamine in dromedary camels Camelus dromedarius.
This study was performed to investigate the analgesic effect of lidocaine and a combination of lidocaine and ketamine following epidural administration in dromedary camels. Ten 12-18-month-old camels were randomly divided into two equal groups. In group L, the animals received 2% lidocaine (0.22 mg/kg) and in group LK the animals received a mixture of 10% ketamine (1 mg/kg) and 2% lidocaine (0.22 mg/kg) administered into the first intercoccygeal (Co1-Co2) epidural space while standing. ⋯ Epidural administration of the lidocaine-ketamine mixture resulted in mild to moderate sedation, whilst the animals that received epidural lidocaine alone were alert and nervous during the study. Ataxia was observed in all test subjects and was slightly more severe in camels that received the lidocaine-ketamine mixture. It was concluded that epidural administration of lidocaine plus ketamine resulted in longer caudal analgesia in standing conscious dromedary camels compared with the effect of administering lidocaine alone.
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Intravenous anaesthesia is gradually becoming popular in veterinary practice. Traditionally, general anaesthesia is induced with intravenous drugs and then maintained with inhalation agents. Inhalation anaesthetic agents cause more significant dose-dependent cardiorespiratory depression than intravenous anaesthetic drugs, creating a need to use less of the inhalation anaesthetic agents for maintenance of general anaesthesia by supplementing with intravenous anaesthesia drugs. ⋯ There is currently very little scientific information on total intravenous anaesthesia in goats, although, in the past few years, some scholarly scientific articles on drugs suitable for partial intravenous anaesthesia in goats have been published. This review article explored the information available on drugs that have been assessed for partial intravenous anaesthesia in goats, with the aim of promoting incorporation of these drugs into total intravenous anaesthesia protocols in clinical practice. That way, balanced anaesthesia, a technique in which drugs are included in anaesthetic protocols for specific desired effects (hypnosis, analgesia, muscle relaxation, autonomic stabilisation) may be utilised in improving the welfare of goats undergoing general anaesthesia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effects of adding epinephrine or xylazine to lidocaine solution for lumbosacral epidural analgesia in fat-tailed sheep.
This blinded, randomised experimental study was designed to compare the analgesic effects of lumbosacral epidural administration of lidocaine-epinephrine or lidocaine-xylazine combinations in fat-tailed sheep. Nine healthy fat-tailed male lambs (mean ± s.d. age, 4.6 ± 0.4 months; weight, 24.6 kg ± 2.5 kg) were randomly allocated into four groups of six sheep: lidocaine 2% (LID), lidocaine-epinephrine 5 µg/mL (LIDEP), lidocaine-xylazine 0.05 mg/kg (LIDXY) or bupivacaine 0.5% (BUP). The onset and duration of flank, perineum and hindlimb anaesthesia and the onset and duration of hindlimb paralysis were recorded. ⋯ The onset of hindlimb paralysis was faster in the LIDXY group than in the BUP group; however, the duration of hindlimb paralysis was shorter in LIDXY compared with LIDEP. Epidural administration of LIDEP or LIDXY provides a comparable duration of local anaesthesia without any adverse effects in fat-tailed sheep. Epidural LIDXY did not appear to be advantageous over epidural LIDEP.
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Comparative Study
A comparison of epidural anaesthesia with lignocaine, bupivacaine and a lignocaine-bupivacaine mixture in cats.
A mixture of 2% lignocaine (LIG) and 0.5% bupivacaine (BUP), at respective dose rates of 2 mg/kg and 0.5 mg/kg (LIG-BUP), was compared to LIG (4 mg/kg) and BUP (1 mg/kg) for lumbosacral epidural anaesthesia in 5 sedated cats. Each cat received all 3 treatment regimens at 1-week intervals. The cats were premedicated with an intramuscular injection of atropine sulphate (0.04 mg/kg) and ketamine hydrochloride (10 mg/kg). ⋯ In conclusion, duration of analgesia produced by LIG-BUP was shorter compared with BUP but longer compared with LIG. Neither LIG nor LIG-BUP has any advantage over epidural BUP in terms of onset of analgesia, time to standing and physiological responses. Therefore, lumbosacral epidural administration of BUP appears to be the best choice for a long surgical procedure lasting more than 1 hour when compared with either LIG or LIG-BUP.
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A partial intravenous protocol was used successfully to maintain anaesthesia in 5 healthy horses. Horses were premedicated with acepromazine, romifidine and butorphanol, induced with guaifenesin and ketamine and maintained on a constant rate infusion of lidocaine, ketamine and medetomidine together with halothane inhalation anaesthesia. ⋯ Mean dobutamine requirement to maintain mean arterial pressure above 9.31 kPa was 0.42 +/- 0.3 microg/kg/min. The administration of relatively low doses of lidocaine, ketamine and medetomidine together with halothane resulted in haemodynamically stable anaesthesia, followed by smooth recovery.