Local Anaesthesia Techniques in Dogs and Cats: A Review Study

Abstract

The use of multimodal anaesthesia and analgesia is desirable as part of a complete analgesic plan. Analgesic strategies for perioperative pain treatment include combinations of drugs with different means of action to increase their efficacy and to reduce the required doses and adverse effects. Local anaesthetics prevent the transduction and transmission of painful stimuli through their action on neuronal cell membranes. They undergo minimal systemic absorption and are therefore ideal alternatives to drugs that could result in systemic toxicity. Numerous benefits have been recognised for the use of local anaesthesia, such as a decreased need for systemic analgesics and decreased hospitalisation periods. Local anaesthetics have been used in veterinary medicine in several ways. Anatomical landmarks can be used to identify the target nerves and the clinician can employ an electrical nerve stimulator or ultrasound guidance to perform a more accurate injection. Local anaesthetic techniques can implement other drugs, apart from or in combination with local anaesthetics, such as opioids, α2−adrenergic agonists or vasoconstricting agents. This review article presents and discusses the most common techniques of local anaesthetic use in small animals, with the aim of providing the clinician with further and comprehensive information regarding the analgesic options during the perioperative period.