Effects of Diazepam, Lidocaine and Their Combination on Clinical Parameters, Haematological Indices and Electrolytes Profile in the Red Sokoto Goat

Abstract

The risks of cardiopulmonary depression, regurgitation, excessive salivation and bloat are the commonest complications associated with general anaesthesia in ruminants. The use of a safer technique of achieving anaesthesia as an alternative must be explored. The safety and effectiveness of epidural anaesthesia make it one of the most frequently used regional anaesthesia techniques for surgical procedures caudal to the umbilicus in ruminant’s practice. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of single intramuscular administration of 0.88mg/kg of diazepam alone and lumbo-sacral epidural injection of a mixture of 7.5mg/kg of lignocaine solution and 0.88mg/kg of diazepam solution in 12 apparently healthy Red Sokoto goats. Changes observed in the Pulse rate (PR), Respiratory rate (RR) and Rectal temperature (RT) were recorded before and after 1 hour of drug administrations. There were no significant effects (P>0.05) on the rectal temperature, although group injected with diazepam alone showed slight increase in temperature. There was slight depression of the respiratory rate with the administrations of diazepam without significant difference. Single administrations of diazepam in combination with lidocaine achieved analgesia lasting for 71±0.3 minutes, as compared with lidocaine alone with analgesia lasting for 58±0.5. The changes observed in the haematological indices and some selected serum electrolytes were statistically insignificant (P>0.05). when baseline values were compared with the treatment group. In conclusion, that epidurally administered lignocaine-diazepam mixture at 7.5mg/kg and 0.88mg/kg respectively had a fast onset of neural blockade, adequate and long duration of analgesia without profound effects on haematological and serum biochemical indices.

Keywords: Epidural, Analgesia; Serum electrolyte; Haematological indices Red Sokoto Goat.