Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pain relief after spay surgery in dogs: epidural vs muscle tramadol
By Mastrocinque, Sandra et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2012·Department of Surgery, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison of epidural and systemic tramadol for analgesia following ovariohysterectomy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of female dogs undergoing spay surgery (ovariohysterectomy) were given either an epidural or an injection of tramadol (a pain medication) to help manage pain after the procedure. Both methods were found to be safe and effective, with no significant differences in pain relief or vital signs between the two groups. A few dogs in both groups needed extra pain relief, but overall, both treatments worked well. The study suggests that while epidural tramadol is safe, it doesn't provide better pain relief than the injection method.
People also search for: dog spay surgery pain relief · tramadol for dogs after surgery · epidural vs injection tramadol for dogs
Abstract
The objective of the study was to compare epidural and systemic tramadol for postoperative analgesia in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy. Twenty animals, randomly divided into two groups, received either epidural (EPI) or intramuscular (IM) tramadol (2 mg/kg) 30 min before anesthetic induction. Analgesia, sedation, cardiorespiratory parameters, end-tidal isoflurane, blood catecholamines and cortisol, and arterial blood gases were measured at different time points up to 24 hr after agent administration. There were no differences between the two groups regarding cardiorespiratory parameters, end-tidal isoflurane, and pain scores. Two dogs in the IM and one in the EPI group required supplemental analgesia. Cortisol was increased (P<0.05) at 120 min (3.59 μg/dL and 3.27 μg/dL in the IM and EPI groups, respectively) and 240 min (2.45 μg/dL and 2.54 μg/dL in the IM and EPI groups, respectively) compared to baseline. Norepinephrine was also increased (P<0.05) at 120 min in both groups compared to baseline values. Epinephrine values were higher (P<0.05) in the IM group compared with the EPI group at 50 min, 120 min, and 1,440 min after tramadol administration. Epidural tramadol is a safe analgesic, but does not appear to have improved analgesic effects compared with IM administration.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22843827/