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This blinded, randomised experimental study was designed to compare the analgesic effects of lumbosacral epidural administration of lidocaine-epinephrine or lidocaine-xylazine combinations in fat-tailed sheep. Nine healthy fat-tailed male lambs (mean ± s.d. age, 4.6 ± 0.4 months; weight, 24.6 kg ± 2.5 kg) were randomly allocated into four groups of six sheep: lidocaine 2% (LID), lidocaine-epinephrine 5 µg/mL (LIDEP), lidocaine-xylazine 0.05 mg/kg (LIDXY) or bupivacaine 0.5% (BUP). The onset and duration of flank, perineum and hindlimb anaesthesia and the onset and duration of hindlimb paralysis were recorded. Epidural administration of LID, LIDEP, LIDXY or BUP produced anaesthesia within 6.6 min, 7.6 min, 3.4 min and 8.4 min, respectively. The mean onset of anaesthesia in the LIDXY group was significantly shorter compared with the BUP group (p = 0.02). The mean duration of anaesthesia was 107.9 min, 190.4 min, 147.6 min and 169.7 min for LID, LIDEP, LIDXY and BUP, respectively. The onset of hindlimb paralysis was faster in the LIDXY group than in the BUP group; however, the duration of hindlimb paralysis was shorter in LIDXY compared with LIDEP. Epidural administration of LIDEP or LIDXY provides a comparable duration of local anaesthesia without any adverse effects in fat-tailed sheep. Epidural LIDXY did not appear to be advantageous over epidural LIDEP.

Intranasal administration of sedative drugs appears to be an acceptable method of drug delivery in Ring-necked Parakeets. Reversal agents are also effective when administered via this route.

Thirty dogs undergoing pelvic or hindlimb orthopedic surgery were each administered one of the following postoperative treatments: intramuscular oxymorphone 0.15 mg/kg (OIM) (n = 10); epidural oxymorphone 0.05 mg/kg, (OEP) (n = 10); or epidural medetomidine, 0.015 mg/kg (MEP) (n = 10). Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and arterial blood pressure were measured before drug injection and 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420, and 480 minutes postinjection (PI). Arterial blood gas analysis was performed before and 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 360, and 480 minutes PI. The duration of analgesia with OEP, 7.62 + 0.30 hours (mean +/- SEM), and MEP, 7.06 + 0.50 hours, was significantly (P < .05) longer than the 4.91 + 0.44 hours obtained with OIM. All treatments resulted in a significant decrease in HR. Four dogs receiving epidural medetomidine each had second degree atrioventricular (AV) block associated with sinus arrhythmia for a brief period during the first 20 minutes after injection. There was no significant difference in arterial blood pressure between OIM and OEP but arterial blood pressure was significantly higher with MEP than with OIM. MEP can provide analgesia comparable with OEP, but bradycardia and second degree AV block will develop in some cases.

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