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Abstract A common and to some degree painful procedure in veterinary practice is to insert an intra-venous catheter. In both human and veterinary medicine, a topical mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA cream) has shown to reduce the pain, however a period of 60 min between application and initiation of the procedure is recommended. This time lapse is not always suitable for clinical practise and a shorter time before anaesthetic effect is therefore desirable. Lidocaine has a shorter time lapse (1–3 min) when used on mucus membrane; however, the effect of lidocaine for desensitization of skin has shown variable results in humans. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of topical lidocaine spray 10% on the response to placement of venous catheters in dogs. Topical lidocaine spray 10% or NaCl 0.9% was administered prior to placing an intravenous catheter in the cephalic vein. A cross-over of treatment with 2 h wash out period was used before placing a catheter in the opposite cephalic vein. The procedure was video recorded and the dogs’ responses were later scored by three persons blinded to treatment using a visual analogue scale. The VAS scores were normalised and the mean difference between treatments were compared using Wilcox signed-rank test. This study could not find a statistical difference between the treatments (P = 0.1763) and could conclude that no significant difference in response to intravenous catheterisation was found between application of NaCl 0.9% or lidocaine 10% prior to the procedure.

Abstract Background General anaesthesia in pigs maintained with intravenous drugs such as propofol may cause respiratory depression. Alfaxalone gives less respiratory depression than propofol in some species. The aim of the investigation was to compare respiratory effects of propofol–ketamine–dexmedetomidine and alfaxalone–ketamine–dexmedetomidine in pigs. Sixteen pigs premedicated with ketamine 15 mg/kg and midazolam 1 mg/kg intramuscularly were anaesthetised with propofol or alfaxalone to allow endotracheal intubation, followed by propofol 8 mg/kg/h or alfaxalone 5 mg/kg/h in combination with ketamine 5 mg/kg/h and dexmedetomidine 4 µg/kg/h given as a continuous infusion for 60 min. The pigs breathed spontaneously with an FIO2 of 0.21. Oxygen saturation (SpO2), end-tidal CO2 concentration (PE′CO2), respiratory rate (f R) and inspired tidal volume (VT) were measured, and statistically compared between treatments. If the SpO2 dropped below 80% or if PE′CO2 increased above 10.0 kPa, the pigs were recorded as failing to complete the study, and time to failure was statistically compared between treatments. Results Alfaxalone treated pigs had significantly higher respiratory rates and lower PE′CO2 than propofol treated pigs, with a f R being 7.3 /min higher (P = 0.01) and PE′CO2 0.8 kPa lower (P = 0.05). SpO2 decreased by 0.6% and f R by 1.0 /min per kg increase in body weight in both treatment groups. Three of eight propofol treated and two of eight alfaxalone treated pigs failed to complete the study, and times to failure were not significantly different between treatments (P = 0.75). Conclusions No major differences in respiratory variables were found when comparing treatments. Respiratory supportive measures must be available when using both protocols.