Diagnostic Analgesia

Effect of sedation on fore‐ and hindlimb lameness evaluation using body‐mounted inertial sensors

“…Sedating horses during a lameness examination is sometimes necessary to facilitate diagnostic analgesia in difficult horses that do not respond to physical means of restraint [3]. The purpose of this study was to measure objectively the effect of low-dose sedation on lameness evaluation using measurement of common indicators of forelimb and hindlimb lameness, vertical movement of the head and pelvis, which have been shown to be accurate for detection of lameness in horses [2][3][4][5].…”

“…Sedation with a-2 agonists prior to diagnostic analgesia and then chemical reversal has been shown to be effective [1], but requires an extra step and is not devoid of potential side effects. Administering a-2 agonists, sometimes at lower than recommended dosages, has been discussed and is used commonly in clinical practice, but remains controversial [1,[3][4][5][6]8,9,[12][13][14][15][16].…”

Caudal anaesthesia of the infraorbital nerve for diagnosis of idiopathic headshaking and caudal compression of the infraorbital nerve for its treatment, in 58 horses

“…A successful outcome from surgery can be considered to confirm the diagnosis, so it is clear that the PET block is useful for diagnosis, but not conclusive. This is the case for all diagnostic local analgesia, where a false negative may be obtained in a number of situations, including misplacing the anaesthetic and in chronic or severe pain [11]. Accordingly, a positive response to PET block could not be used as a prognostic indicator for response to surgery.…”

Ultrasound‐guided Injections in Horses With Cranioventral Distension of the Coxofemoral Joint Capsule: Feasibility for a Cranioventral Approach

“…[1][2][3][4] Blind techniques rely upon palpation of the cranial and caudal eminences of the greater trochanter of the femur for needle placement; anatomic landmarks that are often difficult to identify, especially in overweight or heavily muscled horses. [1][2][3] Furthermore, the needle path to the articulation of the femur and acetabulum is hard to assess blindly, and multiple needle repositionings may be required for joint entry. Aspiration of synovial fluid is recommended to ensure intrasynovial placement, especially when injecting anesthetic agents for diagnostic purposes.…”

“…Complications of extra-synovial deposition include anesthesia of the nearby sciatic nerve and subsequent loss of motor function to the limb. 2 When performed for palliative purposes, extra-synovial placement could be erroneously interpreted as a lack of therapeutic response.…”