Epidural and local anesthetic/analgesic techniques

摘要

The objective for this discussion is the use of epidural and local anesthetic and analgesic techniques for pain management in the perioperative patient. For our purposes we will distinguish analgesia from anesthesia. In small animal practice, generally bupivacaine or lidocaine is used for local anesthesia. For bupivacaine, the maximum perineural dose for dogs is 2 mg/kg and the maximum perineural dose for cats is 1 mg/kg. The onset is about 20 minutes and the duration is about 4 to 8 hours. For lidocaine, the maximum perineural dose for the dog is 5 mg/kg and the maximum perineural dose for the cat is 2.5 mg/kg. The onset is 5 to 10 minutes and duration is aboutl hour. Due to the extended duration, bupivacaine is the drug of choice for providing local anesthesia. For local analgesic techniques, a variety of opioids are used and will be discussed later. The local anesthetic or analgesic may need to be diluted with sterile saline for appropriate coverage.