The concern about pain management in exotic mammals is increasing. However, only a few studies describe locoregional anesthesia techniques in rabbits. Thus, this report aims to describe the lumbar paravertebral block, guided by peripheral nerve stimulation, in a rabbit undergoing mid-femoral amputation. We received a one-year-old rabbit weighing 1.27kg with a history of non-union of the right femur and osteomyelitis. The animal came to us for high pelvic limb amputation. After premedication with ketamine, midazolam, and morphine, the patient was maintained under general anesthesia in a non-rebreathing circuit under spontaneous ventilation with isoflurane vaporized in 0.6 oxygen. Using a peripheral nerve stimulator, we performed the lumbar paravertebral block, positioning the needle between the L5 and L6 vertebrae and injecting 0.2mL/kg bupivacaine. The patient remained stable throughout the procedure, without the need for analgesic rescue with opioids during surgery and postoperatively. The discharge occurred after 24 hours. The lumbar paravertebral block proved efficient for trans and postoperative analgesia for high pelvic limbic amputation in rabbits.

Background: The anatomical, physiological, and pharmacological characteristics of reptiles make anesthesia in chelonians particularly challenging. Specific literature regarding safe anesthetic protocols that provide immobilization, antinociception, amnesia, and unconsciousness are scarce. Thus, this paper aims to report the case of a red-footed tortoise submitted to long-duration general anesthesia to celiotomy for foreign body removal.  Case: An adult red-footed tortoise (Chelonoides carbonaria), 5.9 kg, was admitted due to hyporexia after ingesting a metallic fishhook. Serial radiographs confirmed the diagnosis and location of the foreign body in the stomach. The animal was premedicated with 0.03 mg/kg dexmedetomidine, 6 mg/kg ketamine, and 0.4 mg/kg butorphanol intramuscularly. After 90 min we inserted a 22G jugular catheter and proceeded to anesthesia induction with 5 mg/kg propofol. We intubated the animal with a 2.5 mm uncuffed endotracheal and started fluid therapy at a rate of 5 mL/kg/h. Surgical anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane in 0.21 oxygen, in a non-rebreathing circuit (baraka), under spontaneous breathing. Expired isoflurane was maintained between 3 and 4.5%. Due to reduced respiratory rate and hypercapnia, we opted for implementing manually-assisted positive pressure ventilation. Morphine (0.5 mg/kg) was administered at 10 and 87 min after the beginning of the surgery for further analgesia when the isoflurane requirement increased significantly. We did not detect any alterations in heart and body temperature. Surgical anesthesia lasted 6 h. During anesthesia recovery, voluntary head retraction and coordinated movement of the limbs occurred at 240 and 540 min after the extubation, respectively. In 2 days, the patient returned to voluntary feeding, being very active and responsive to stimulus. The post-surgical hematologic evaluation was unremarkable. Discussion: Pre-anesthetic medication aimed to promote sedation and preemptive analgesia. Due to its minimal cardiorespiratory depression, we chose the combination of ketamine, dexmedetomidine, and butorphanol. Dexmedetomidine reduced the ketamine dose and caused sufficient muscle relaxation and immobilization to perform the jugular catheter placement. Butorphanol is an agonist-antagonist opioid; that is why we decided to add it to the protocol for antinociception. However, due to signs of nociceptive response (increased isoflurane requirements and heart rate), and considering the evidence of a predominance of μ receptors in reptiles, we administered low-dose morphine twice during the procedure. Propofol was chosen as an induction agent at a dose sufficient to allow endotracheal intubation. Since reptilians often show apnea in the presence of 100% oxygen, we used a 0.21 oxygen fraction. Despite this, the patient showed respiratory depression. Due to right to left cardiac shunt, sudden changes in the direction of the blood can lead to very rapid changes in the serum concentrations of isoflurane, which leads to frequent oscillations in the anesthetic depth and consequently the need for vaporizer adjustments, which may justify the high expired isoflurane fraction during the procedure. Despite that, physiological parameters were maintained within normal ranges for the species, with slight variations during the surgical procedure. We conclude that the proposed anesthetic protocol is safe for long-duration anesthesia in chelonians, ensuring cardiovascular and respiratory stability. Thus, this report may help veterinarians to perform safe anesthesia in tortoises submitted to invasive surgical procedures.  Keywords: testudines, dexmedetomidine, ketamine, butorphanol. Descritores: testudines, dexmedetomidina, cetamina, butorfanol.

Sarcocystis spp. são protozoários do filo Apicomplexa que podem infectar diversas espécies, incluindo o homem, e dependendo da espécie do parasito em questão, os seres humanos podem atuar tanto como hospedeiros intermediários quanto definitivos. Quanto aos hospedeiros intermediários, os silvestres também se destacam, como primatas e mamíferos herbívoros, sendo que estes apresentam cistos do protozoário em sua musculatura. Carnívoros e onívoros atuam como hospedeiros definitivos e contaminam-se ingerindo os cistos presentes na musculatura de animais infectados (FAYER; ESPOSITO; DUBEY, 2015). Além disso, a espécie S. neurona possui grande importância na equideocultura, visto que estes animais podem desenvolver uma neuropatia conhecida como mieloencefalite protozoária equina, sendo o Gambá-de-orelha-branca (Didelphis albiventris) o principal hospedeiro definitivo desta espécie e a fonte de infecção para estes animais na América do Sul (ESTEVAM, 2017). O Quati-de-cauda-anelada (Nasua nasua), devido a sua proximidade com os gambás, podem se contaminar ingerindo os oocistos presentes nas fezes dos marsupiais, podendo atuar como hospedeiros intermediários da doença. Diante disso, relata-se um caso de Sarcocystis spp. em Quati-de-cauda-anelada diagnosticado no Laboratório de Patologia Veterinária (LPV) da Universidade Federal do Paraná – Setor Palotina. Um quati, fêmea, foi atendido no Hospital Veterinário da UFPR, Setor Palotina, com histórico de atropelamento e veio a óbito, sendo encaminhado ao LPV para exame necroscópico. Na macroscopia, observou-se áreas multifocais de moderada hemorragia em musculatura de membro pélvico esquerdo possivelmente decorrentes do trauma. Na microscopia, observou-se moderada quantidade de estruturas parasitárias císticas de tamanhos variáveis, com uma cápsula eosinofílica contendo inúmeros esporozoítos, sendo compatíveis com cistos de Sarcocystis spp. Próximo aos cistos parasitários, notou-se moderado aumento da eosinofilia sarcoplasmática e perda das estriações (degeneração). Por se tratar de uma enfermidade que pode acometer os seres humanos, a detecção do agente nos animais silvestres e sinantrópicos pode ser levada em consideração para a implementação de medidas sanitárias e de educação preventivas, visto que este agente pode ser transmitido de maneira indireta pelo consumo de água e alimentos contaminados com oocistos, bem como a ingestão de carnes (principalmente de caça) com a presença de cistos na musculatura. Além disso, a doença possui importância econômica, principalmente na criação de equinos, onde a mesmo pode levar à morte dos animais. Diante disso, pode-se concluir que a histopatologia foi de suma importância para a detecção do protozoário, e a presença do agente pode indicar uma contaminação do ambiente.