The present study was carried out in order to compare the effects of xylazine and lidocaine on analgesia and cardiopulmonary parameters following epidural injection in goats.
Twelve healthy Small East African goats of both sexes (mean ± SD; 15.6 ± 1.9 kg body weight) were used. The goats were randomly assigned to two groups of five and seven animals. The first group (n = 5) was given 2 % lidocaine‐HCl at 4400 μg/kg body weight. The second group (n = 7) was administered 2 % xylazine‐HCl at 150 μg/kg body weight. All drugs were diluted in 5 ml of sterile water and were injected epidurally through the lumbosacral interspace with the injection taking over 20 s.
Both drugs induced analgesia within 5 min. Signs of sedation, cardiopulmonary changes and lateral recumbency developed within 5–7 min after administration of epidural xylazine. Tail flaccidity and hind limb paralysis developed 3 min after epidural administration of lidocaine. The time from recumbency to regaining normal stance was 60 and 158 min for xylazine‐ and lidocaine‐treated animals respectively.
Xylazine induced adequate analgesia of the flank and perineum, which extended to the head and forelimbs. In contrast, lidocaine induced adequate bilateral flank and perineal analgesia extending up to the third thoracic vertebra. For both drugs, analgesia of the flank and perineum persisted for the entire 180‐min observational period. Epidural injection of xylazine and lidocaine caused variable depression effects on the cardiopulmonary values but was not so low as to cause concern.
It is concluded that lumbosacral epidural injection of xylazine at 150 μg/kg body weight in 5 ml of water for injection offers the most desirable sedation and analgesia of the flank and perineum. The longer duration of analgesia may be useful for postoperative analgesia and relief of continuous straining in goats.
Background: Assessing wildlife movements and habitat use is important for species conservation and management and can be informative for understanding population dynamics. The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) population of Ruaha National Park, Tanzania has been declining, and little was known about the movement, habitat selection, and space use of the population, which is important for understanding possible reasons behind the decline. A total of 12 African buffalo cows from four different herds were collared with satellite transmitters. Movements were assessed over 2 years from 11 animals.
Results:The space use of the individual collared buffaloes as an approximation of the 95% home range size estimated using Brownian bridge models, ranged from 73 to 601 km 2 . The estimated home ranges were larger in the wet season than in the dry season. With the exception of one buffalo all collared animals completed a wet season migration of varying distances. A consistent pattern of seasonal movement was observed with one herd, whereas the other herds did not behave the same way in the two wet seasons that they were tracked. Herd splitting and herd switching occurred on multiple occasions. Buffaloes strongly associated with habitats near the Great Ruaha River in the dry season and had little association to permanent water sources in the wet season. Daily movements averaged 4.6 km (standard deviation, SD = 2.6 km), with the longest distances traveled during November (mean 6.9 km, SD = 3.6 km) at the end of the dry season and beginning of the wet season. The shortest daily distances traveled occurred in the wet season in April-June (mean 3.6 km, SD = 1.6-1.8 km).
Conclusion:The Great Ruaha River has experienced significant drying in the last decades due to water diversions upstream, which likely has reduced the suitable range for buffaloes. The loss of dry season habitat due to water scarcity has likely contributed to the population decline of the Ruaha buffaloes.
This study was carried out in order to evaluate the analgesic, sedative, immobilizing and cardiopulmonary effects of medetomidine in goats after lumbosacral epidural injection of three (10, 20 and 30 micrograms/kg body weight) doses. The volume of the injection for all three medetomidine doses was 5 ml in sterile water. Seventeen clinically healthy, Small East African goats of either sex and weighing between 12 and 22 kg (mean +/- SD; 14.8 +/- 2.5 kg body weight) were used. The animals were randomly assigned to two groups. Seven goats were used for evaluating analgesic, behavioural and cardiopulmonary effects while 10 were used for experimental surgery. The cardiopulmonary values and rectal temperature were determined and recorded at time 0 (preinjection) and at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 min, and thereafter at 15-min intervals up to 180 min after injection. Analgesia of the flank and perineum was determined at time 0 (preinjection) and at 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 180 min using a scoring system. The spread of analgesia to the thorax, neck, forelimbs and head was also determined and recorded. The onset and duration of lateral recumbency was noted and recorded. Medetomidine at the given doses induced variable cardiopulmonary depression, which was not detrimental to the animals. All three doses (10, 20 and 30 micrograms/kg) of medetomidine induced adequate analgesia of the flank and perineum. Analgesia extended to the thorax, forelimbs, neck and head. The duration of lateral recumbency was 136 and 166 min for the 20 and 30 micrograms/kg medetomidine doses, respectively. The duration of lateral recumbency was not determined for the animal given 10 micrograms/kg medetomidine. Signs of sedation (lowering of the head, drooping of the lower lip, partial to complete closure of the eyes and salivation) were noted after administration of all three doses. It can be concluded from this study that all three doses induced adequate analgesia of the flank and perineum. Surgical analgesia of the flank of goats was achieved after lumbosacral epidural administration of 20 micrograms medetomidine/kg, diluted in 5 ml of sterile water. Surgery was not performed with the other doses (10 and 30 micrograms/kg) of medetomidine.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.