Antinociceptive effect of lidocaine, tramadol, and their combination for lumbosacral epidural analgesia in rabbits undergoing experimental knee surgery

AIM: The current study aimed to evaluate the antinociceptive effect of lidocaine, tramadol, and their combination for lumbosacral epidural analgesia in rabbits undergoing knee surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed on 24 male New Zealand white rabbits weighing 2.8 to 3.0 kg and was allocated into three groups. All groups were anaesthetized by intramuscular (IM) injection of 35 mg/kg ketamine and 5 mg/kg xylazine, 0.1 mg/kg butorphanol. Rabbits in Group A received epidural analgesia of 4 mg/kg lidocaine 2%; Group B rabbits received epidural analgesia of 4 mg/kg tramadol 5%, and Group C rabbits received epidural analgesia of a combination of 4 mg/kg lidocaine and 4 mg/kg tramadol. Prior to and during surgery, the following parameters were recorded in a regular pre-set time interval: onset time of analgesia (OT), duration of flaccid paralysis (DFP), duration of analgesia (DA), onset and duration of sensory blockade, onset and duration of motor blockade, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and rectal temperature (RT). RESULTS: The mean OT demonstrated a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in Group C (46.5 ± 1.4 sec) compared to Group A and B (61.0 ± 2.4 and 54.5 ± 3.5 sec), respectively. DFP was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in Group C (35.5 ± 2.9 min) than in Group A and B (17.6 ± 1.4 and 21.8 ± 3.6), respectively. DA showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in group C (45.8 ± 3.3 min) compared to groups A and B, respectively (23.3 ± 1.1 and 31.5 ± 2.3). Heart rate, RR, and RT significantly decreased in Group C compared to the other groups. CONCLUSION: According to the current study findings, lumbosacral epidural administration of lidocaine combined with tramadol could be a better choice for potentiating the analgesia than administration of either drug separately and may be safely used in rabbits undergoing knee surgery.