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Evaluation of the clinical effects of epidural butorphanol in cattle
Trucco, T.; Ruben, M.; Leiva, C...
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Introduction and Objectives: Epidural administration is one of the commonly used regional blocks in bovine anesthesia for pain control. Caudal epidural anesthesia is commonly utilized in veterinary medicine to allow diagnostic, obstetrical, and surgical intervention in the perineal region of large animals, while allowing animals to remain in the standing position. Local anesthetics are the most frequently used drugs for producing analgesia by epidural injection, but other classes such as α-2 adrenoceptor agonists, ketamine, and opioids have also been widely used. It has been shown in several species that opioids and alpha-adrenergic agents produce selective caudal epidural analgesia via binding to the spinal receptors. Stimulation of these spinal receptors results in the inhibition of rostral transmission of nociceptive (pain) impulses. Thus, a potential advantage of these agents is the selective sensory blockade, without the unfavorable depression of motor or autonomic neurons. Although many opioids have been evaluated and clinically used for epidural analgesia in cattle, there are no clinical trials on the use of butorphanol (BTL) epidurally in cows. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the sedative and analgesic effects of butorphanol administered epidurally (C1-C2 intercoccygeal space) in standing cattle.
Methods: Five 2 - 3 year-old Holstein heifers (mean 14.6 months ± 0.7); weighing 423 ± 41 kg were used in this study. During the experiment, cows were restrained in a chute. The skin area over the first intercoccygeal (Co1-Co2) space was identified and aseptically prepared. Epidural puncture was performed with an 18-gauge, 38 mm needle, that was directed at the right angle to the general contour of the croup. The correct needle placement in the epidural space was confirmed by hanging-drop technique and the lack of resistance during administration of the injectate. Each animal received epidural anesthesia with butorphanol at a dose of 0.02 mg/kg BW. For each animal, butorphanol was diluted in saline (0.9%) to a final volume of 5 ml. Sedation, ataxia, and analgesia were assessed before butorphanol administration and at 5 min intervals after epidural administration for 60 min, and every 15 min thereafter for 120 min. Analgesia was tested by applying a standard noxious stimulus (skin pinching using a kocher hemostat) and subjectively scored based on a 3-point scale: 1) no response 2) depressed response; and 3) normal response.
The onset, magnitude, and duration of caudal epidural analgesia were also determined. Sedation was subjectively evaluated by the attitude of the cow, including the response to noise, carriage of the head, and the presence of excessive salivation. Ataxia was evaluated by observing the position of the pelvic limbs, swaying and leaning against the chute, or any knuckling of the hindlimbs. Physiological variables including heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), rumen contraction (RM), and rectal temperature (RT) were assessed before epidural administration (baseline) and at 15 min intervals thereafter for 120 min. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented as mean ± SEM.
Results: Caudal epidural anesthesia was produced in all heifers following the administration of BTL. The epidural injection was easy to perform and well tolerated by all animals. Caudal epidural analgesia ranged from the tail, vulva, perineum, paralumbar fossa, flank fold and last rib in all heifers. Time to the onset of analgesia was 15 ± 2 minutes and duration of epidural analgesia was 69 ± 7.2 minutes. In all cattle, mild to moderate sedation (slight lowering of the head carriage and lower lip and ptyalism) was noted for 68 ± 6 minutes. No signs of ataxia were detected. No significant differences in heart rate, respiratory rate, rumen motility and rectal temperature were observed between measurements before and after epidural administration.
Conclusion: Butorphanol (0.02 mg/kg) administered epidurally to adult cattle produced adequate cutaneous analgesia and mild sedation without affecting the cardiopulmonary and rumen motility at the doses used in this study.
Keywords: Bovine, opioids, epidural, pain, butorphanol.
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Affiliation of the authors at the time of publication
Veterinaria Trucco, Private Practice, Argentina;
Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Argentina;
University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine, United States.
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