Ultrasound-guided parasternal injection in dogs: a cadaver study

To describe the technique of performing an ultrasound-guided distal parasternal intercostal block and to determine the distribution of two volumes of methylene blue dye solution injected in canine cadavers.

Prospective cadaver study.

A group of seven canine cadavers weighing 12-34 kg.

The space between the transversus thoracic and the internal intercostal muscles is a virtual cavity. Ultrasound-guided injections in the distal (parasternal) intercostal space were performed using dye solution at 0.05 mL kg^-1 in each intercostal space from the second to seventh (LV, low volume, six injections per dog) in one hemithorax, and 0.1 mL kg^-1 in the third, fifth and seventh intercostal spaces (HV, high volume, three injections in each dog) on the contralateral side. Anatomical dissection was carried out to describe dye spread characteristics and staining of intercostal nerves.

The ultrasonographic landmarks for injection were identified in each cadaver. In the LV group the solution was found in every intercostal space (36/36), whereas the HV injection stained six intercostal spaces in two dogs, five in two, and in two dogs the solution was found in four and three spaces, respectively, demonstrating multisegmental distribution. Intrapleural staining was observed after two injections.

Ultrasound-guided injection of 0.05 mL kg^-1 at the distal intercostal space resulted in staining of the intercostal nerve in all dogs when performed in every space and may be an appropriate alternative to previously reported techniques. A single injection of 0.1 mL kg^-1 may anaesthetize more than one intercostal nerve, but not consistently. Clinical investigations are warranted to better characterize and to refine this locoregional technique.