Publication:

Paravertebral anaesthesia in goats: a comparative study of various local analgesic agents

Background Paravertebral nerve block is commonly used as a method of choice for surgical procedures in ruminants. The aims of this study were to compare the effects of different local analgesic agents for paravertebral nerve block.

Methods In this study, fifteen apparently healthy female goats weighing 10-13 kg were allocated into three groups: group A (2% Lidocaine HCl: 4 mg/kg BW), group B (2% lidocaine HCl with epinephrine: 4 mg/kg BW), and group C (0.5% bupivacaine: 1 mg/kg BW). All these local analgesic agents were injected to block the T13, L1 and L2 spinal nerves.

Results Among all groups of animals, group B had the longest period of anesthesia followed by group C and group A. All the animals in groups A, B, and C exhibited a substantial change (p<0.05) in their clinical parameters while receiving local anesthesia. During this study, the value of hemoglobin, packed cell volume, total erythrocyte count, and total leukocyte count were altered significantly (p<0.05) in the animals of group A, B and C at different time intervals after paravertebral administration of different local analgesic regimens. In terms of serum biochemistry, throughout the analgesic period, substantial (p<0.05) alterations were observed in alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), urea, cortisol, and electrolyte level of all experimental groups.

Conclusions Based on the results, it can be inferred that the paravertebral injection of 2% lidocaine with epinephrine results in longest duration of analgesic effect with some undesirable systemic effects on renal and hepatic responses.