Cardiopulmonary Effects of Constant-Rate Infusion of Lidocaine for Anesthesia during Abdominal Surgery in Goats

Lidocaine is commonly used in ruminants but has an anecdotal history of being toxic to goats. To evaluate lidocaine's effects on selected cardiopulmonary parameters. Isoflurane-anesthetized adult goats (n = 24) undergoing abdominal surgery received a loading dose of lidocaine (2.5 mg/kg) over 20 min followed by constant-rate infusion of lidocaine (100 μg/kg/min); control animals received saline instead of lidocaine. Data collected at predetermined time points during the 60-min surgery included heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, pO2, and pCO2. According to Welch 2-sample t tests, cardiopulmonary variables did not differ between groups. For example, after administration of the loading dose, goats in the lidocaine group had a mean heart rate of 88 ± 28 bpm, mean arterial blood pressure of 70 ± 19 mm Hg, pCO2 of 65 ± 13 mm Hg, and pO2 of 212 ± 99 mm Hg; in the saline group, these values were 90 ± 16 bpm, 76 ± 12 mm Hg, 61 ± 9 mm Hg, and 209 ± 83 mm Hg, respectively. One goat in the saline group required an additional dose of butorphanol. Overall our findings indicate that, at the dose provided, intravenous lidocaine did not cause adverse cardiopulmonary effects in adult goats undergoing abdominal surgery. Adding lidocaine infusion during general anesthesia is an option for enhancing transoperative analgesia in goats.