This study investigated the use of sprayed intraperitoneal
bupivacaine to relieve
postoperative pain behavior and biochemical stress response after laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy (LOVH) in dogs. Sixteen sexually intact female dogs were randomly assigned to two groups. The sprayed intraperitoneal
bupivacaine (SIB) group received 4.4 mg/kg of sprayed intraperitoneal
bupivacaine diluted to 0.25% with an equivalent volume of saline after
pneumoperitoneum. The control group received 1.76 mL/kg of saline in a similar fashion. Both groups received preoperative periportal 5%
bupivacaine (1 mL) before incision.
Postoperative pain was measured using the short form of the Glasgow composite measures
pain scale (CMPS-SF, 0-24). Serum
cortisol and
glucose concentrations were measured preoperatively and 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24h postoperatively. The SIB group had significantly lower CMPS-SF compared to the control group 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12h after the operation.
Cortisol concentrations were significantly increased from preoperative concentrations in the control group at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4h post operation and at 0.5 and 1h post operation in the SIB group. No significant differences were seen in serum
glucose within each group. This report suggests that the use of sprayed intraperitoneal
bupivacaine can be used as part of a multimodal approach for
pain management after LOVH in dogs.