Analgesic, Behavioural and Cardiopulmonary Effects of Epidurally Injected Medetomidine (Domitor^®) in Goats

Abstract

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.

Effect of bupivacaine on epidural analgesia produced by xylazine or medetomidine in buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

“…Caudal epidural administration of xylazine resulted in analgesia of the perineal region in cattle ), sheep (Kyles et al 1993), llamas (Grubb et al 1993) and buffaloes (Singh et al 2004). Similarly, epidural medetomidine has been used to produce caudal analgesia in cattle (Lin et al 1998) and goats (Mpanduji et al 2000). The analgesia produced by epidural alpha-2 agonists may be considered more practical than that produced by commonly used local anaesthetic agents, especially in large ruminants, as it has a prolonged duration of action and decreased disruption of motor function (LeBlanc et al 1988;Grubb et al 1992Grubb et al , 1993.…”

Preanesthesia, Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Euthanasia

“…Its effects on the cardiovascular system are variable depending on species, the route of administration and concurrent administration with other drugs. Medetomidine caused cardiovascular depression when administered epidurally or with midazolam (Raekallio et al, 1991;Mpanduji et al, 2000). Medetomidine caused cardiovascular depression when administered epidurally or with midazolam (Raekallio et al, 1991;Mpanduji et al, 2000).…”

Lumbosacral injection of lidocaine, detomidine and lidocaine–detomidine in goats: anti-nociceptive effects and changes on haematobiochemical parameters

“…However, larger volumes produce an increased risk of motor paralysis to the hind limbs (Moulvi et al 2011a). Therefore, local anaesthetics can be used in combination with other analgesic or anaesthetic agents such as xylazine or ketamine, respectively (Mpanduji et al 2000;Dehkordi et al 2012;Re et al 2016;Shokry and Elkasapy 2018). Alpha-2 adrenergic agonist medications such as detomidine and medetomidine are commonly used to induce longer and adequate analgesia.…”