Intravenous lidocaine and small-intestinal size, abdominal fluid, and outcome after colic surgery in horses.

The research investigates if using intravenous lidocaine in horses undergoing surgery for intestinal disorders improves postoperative outcomes, particularly in reducing jejunal distension and peritoneal fluid accumulation.

Study Structure and Treatment

• The study involved a total of 28 horses diagnosed with an intestinal disorder requiring surgery, divided into two groups. One group was given lidocaine (n=13) and the other a saline control (n=15).
• An intravenous dose of 2% lidocaine was administered to the horses in the treated group after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion of 1% lidocaine until anesthesia discontinuation.
• Upon recovery from anesthesia, these horses received another loading dose of 2% lidocaine, followed by a 24-hour postoperative infusion of 1% lidocaine. The control group was given equivalent volumes of saline in the same timeframe.

Findings and Results

• The study found that horses which were administered lidocaine showed significantly improved minimum jejunal cross-sectional area scores, minimum jejunal diameter scores, and intestinal ultrasound index.
• The researchers detected peritoneal fluid in more than half of the control group horses by percutaneous ultrasound examination, while none was detected in the horses treated with lidocaine.
• The lidocaine-treated horses were also more likely to not require fluid through abdominocentesis, a procedure to remove fluid from the abdominal cavity.
• No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding gastrointestinal sounds, the time to passage of the first feces, the number of defecations within the initial 24 hours, gastric reflux presence, duodenal or jejunal wall thickness, the maximum and minimum diameters and cross-sectional areas of the duodenum and jejunum, duodenal and jejunal intraluminal echogenicity, small-intestinal contractions per minute, complications rate, or outcome.

Conclusions and Future Applications

• The researchers concluded that administering an infusion of lidocaine could have some beneficial effects on horses that have undergone surgery for intestinal disorders, as evidenced by the reduction of jejunal distension and peritoneal fluid accumulation.
• The lidocaine infusion was well-tolerated during the perioperative period in horses experiencing colic.
• However, due to the low incidence of small-intestinal lesions and gastric reflux in the study, the preventive effect of lidocaine in postoperative ileus (POI) remains unclear. This leaves room for future research on lidocaine’s possible role in preventing POI after surgery.