The full details of the published version of the article are as follows: Small Animals S eptic peritonitis is associated with a high mortality rate, and it is a major cause of sepsis in dogs. The most common predisposing cause for septic peritonitis is the contamination of (or translocation into) the peritoneal cavity by microorganisms normally present in abdominal organs. 1,2 Endotoxins produced by bacteria cause the release of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin, tumor necrosis factor, and prostanoids, which contribute to vasomotor paralysis and capillary occlusion with secondary leakage of fluid into the interstitium. [3][4][5][6][7] The clinical signs of septic peritonitis may be vague, but distributive shock fre-
OBJECTIVETo investigate whether intraoperative administration of a lidocaine infusion to dogs with septic peritonitis was associated with short-term (48 hours) survival after surgery.
DESIGN
Retrospective case series.ANIMALS 75 dogs with septic peritonitis.
PROCEDURESMedical records of dogs with septic peritonitis that underwent laparotomy between January 2007 and December 2011 at the Royal Veterinary College were reviewed. Select variables during the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods and short-term survival after surgery were compared between dogs that received an opioid only (group O; n = 33) and dogs that received lidocaine (50 µg/kg/min [22.7 µg/kg/min], IV; group L; 42) in addition to an opioid during surgery.
RESULTSThe proportion of dogs that survived for 48 hours after surgery was significantly greater for group L (35/42) than for group O (20/33). Intraoperative infusion of lidocaine increased the odds of short-term survival (OR, 8.77; 95% CI, 1.94 to 39.57). No significant differences were observed between the 2 treatment groups for variables assessed during the preoperative and postoperative periods. During the intraoperative period, more dogs in group L received an IV bolus of a synthetic colloid than did dogs in group O, but the number of IV boluses administered was not associated with short-term survival.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCEResults indicated that IV infusion of lidocaine might improve the short-term survival of dogs with septic peritonitis. Prospective clinical trials are necessary to determine the efficacy of lidocaine as a supportive treatment for dogs with septic peritonitis. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2016;248:422-429)