Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Local lidocaine vs morphine for pain after dog ear surgery
By Wolfe, Tina M et al.·Published in Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia·2006·Cincinnati Animal Referral and Emergency Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of a local anesthetic delivery system for the postoperative analgesic management of canine total ear canal ablation--a randomized, controlled, double-blinded study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Twenty dogs undergoing total ear canal surgery were given either a local anesthetic (lidocaine) or morphine to manage pain after their procedure. While both methods were effective, the dogs receiving lidocaine showed less sedation and had no drug-related complications, unlike those on morphine, who experienced some side effects. Overall, the lidocaine delivery system was just as effective for pain relief but resulted in fewer issues, making it a safer option for postoperative care.
People also search for: dog ear surgery pain management · lidocaine for dogs after surgery · morphine side effects in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine if a constant rate local anesthetic delivery system is more effective than continuous intravenous (IV) morphine infusion for postoperative analgesia. ANIMALS: Twenty client-owned dogs undergoing total ear canal ablation. METHODS: Dogs were randomly assigned to the lidocaine group (LID) or the morphine group (MOR). The LID group received a constant rate infusion of lidocaine locally and a continuous IV infusion of saline, while the MOR group received a constant rate infusion of saline locally and a continuous IV infusion of morphine. The primary investigator evaluated each patient and determined a hospital behavior score, anesthesia recovery score, preoperative pain score, and serial postoperative pain and sedation scores over 38 hours. Pain and sedation observations were videotaped and scored by three additional evaluators. Evaluators were blinded to treatment assignments. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, weight, hospital behavior scores or anesthesia recovery scores. The primary investigator's pain scores were not significantly different, but sedation scores were significantly lower for the LID group. Sedation and pain scores by the video evaluators were not significantly different between groups. Kappa agreement between observers was poor, but better agreement was noted between sedation scores than pain scores. Drug-related complications were significantly lower in the LID group (n = 0) compared with the MOR group (n = 5). Wound complications were not significantly different (LID = 4, MOR = 4). Intravenous delivery complications occurred in 12 (60%) patients. Local delivery complications occurred in five (25%) dogs. Delivery complications were not significantly different between groups. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Continuous incisional lidocaine delivery was an equipotent and viable method of providing postoperative analgesia compared with IV morphine. Lidocaine delivery resulted in a trend toward lower pain scores, significantly lower sedation scores, and no dogs requiring analgesic rescue. Wound complications secondary to local infusion were minor and self-limiting. Drug-related complications occurred only in the MOR group.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16916355/