Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Effectiveness of nerve blocks in cats after hindlimb surgery
By Vettorato, Enzo & Corletto, Federico·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2016·Dick White Referrals, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Retrospective assessment of peripheral nerve block techniques used in cats undergoing hindlimb orthopaedic surgery.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats undergoing hindlimb orthopedic surgery received a type of pain relief called peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) to help manage their discomfort during and after the procedure. Most of the cats were given a local anesthetic called levobupivacaine, and while many experienced some low blood pressure during surgery, none had serious complications like paralysis or nerve issues after six weeks. The study found that PNBs were effective in providing pain relief, but more research is needed to understand the impact of the low blood pressure observed. Overall, the cats seemed to recover well from their surgeries with the help of these pain management techniques.
People also search for: cat hindlimb surgery pain relief · peripheral nerve block cats · cat anesthesia complications · cat orthopedic surgery recovery
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess retrospectively the efficacy and complication rate of hindlimb peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) in cats. METHODS: Clinical records of cats that received PNBs and underwent hindlimb orthopaedic surgery from February 2010 to October 2014 were examined. Type of PNB, type and dose of local anaesthetic used, end-expiratory fraction of isoflurane (FE'Iso) administered, additional intraoperative analgesia, incidence of hypotension, postoperative opioid requirement, postoperative contralateral limb paralysis and neurological complications at the 6 week re-examination were investigated. RESULTS: Eighty-nine records were retrieved but only 69 were analysed. Four combinations of PNBs were used: 34 lateral preiliac (LPI) approach to lumbar plexus (LP) associated with lumbar paravertebral approach to sciatic nerve (SN); 20 LPI-LP associated with the lateral approach to SN; three LPI-LP associated with gluteal approach to SN; 12 dorsal-paravertebral (DPV) approach to LP associated with lateral SN. Levobupivacaine was used for the majority of PNBs. The mean intraoperative FE'Iso was 1.15%; hypotension was documented in 55.1% of anaesthetics, while 31.8% of cats received fentanyl and/or ketamine intraoperatively. Postoperatively, 72.7% of cats received at least one dose of opioid, while five cats required further postoperative analgesia (ketamine constant rate infusion and/or gabapentin). No cats showed contralateral limb paralysis and neurological complications at the 6 week re-examination. No differences were found when comparing the different PNBs used. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: PNBs contributed to perioperative anaesthesia/analgesia in cats undergoing hindlimb orthopaedic surgery. However, the clinical relevance of intraoperative hypotension needs further investigation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26239941/