Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Low blood pressure and itching after spinal anesthesia in a cat
By Bauquier, S H·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2012·The University of Melbourne, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hypotension and pruritus induced by neuraxial anaesthesia in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old female spayed Domestic Short-hair cat developed low blood pressure and itching after receiving an epidural injection of morphine and bupivacaine for surgery on her torn knee ligament. While itching is not a common side effect, it can sometimes be confused with discomfort during recovery. The veterinarian treated her itching with ondansetron, which helped relieve her symptoms within about 30 minutes. After treatment, the cat was more comfortable and her blood pressure stabilized.
People also search for: cat itching after surgery · cat low blood pressure treatment · cat epidural side effects
Abstract
Although preventive epidural morphine administration with bupivacaine is effective in producing long-lasting analgesia, neuraxial anaesthesia can cause cardiovascular depression and pruritus. This report presents the development and treatment of hypotension and pruritus after intrathecal morphine and bupivacaine administration in a 3-year-old female spayed Domestic Short-hair cat presented for surgical repair of a torn right cranial cruciate ligament. Opioid-induced pruritus is not usually considered a frequently occurring complication, but may be easily misinterpreted as being dysphoria in recovery. It can be treated by administration of ondansetron, with human patients usually responding within 30 min after treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23004233/