Ultrasound-Guided Thoracic Paravertebral, Erector Spinae Plane and Quadratus Lumborum Blocks During Emergency...

Emergency laparotomy is frequently performed in dogs with cardiovascular compromise, making perioperative anesthesia and nociceptive management particularly challenging. Although ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia techniques have demonstrated opioid-sparing effects during elective procedures, evidence supporting their use in emergency surgery remains limited. Medical records of 61 client-owned dogs were reviewed, and 41 met the inclusion criteria. Dogs were retrospectively allocated to one of four groups according to the analgesic technique received: thoracic paravertebral (TPV, n = 12), erector spinae plane (ESP, n = 11), quadratus lumborum (QL, n = 7), or no regional anesthesia (comparison group, n = 11). All regional blocks were performed using ropivacaine. Total intraoperative fentanyl consumption differed significantly among groups (p < 0.0001), with all regional anesthesia groups requiring less fentanyl than dogs managed without a regional block. Block execution time also differed significantly, with the ESP block requiring the shortest execution time. No significant differences were observed in block-related complications. Intraoperative hypotension did not differ significantly among the regional anesthesia groups; however, significant differences were observed between the control group and both the TPV and ESP groups. Ultrasound-guided TPV, ESP, and QL blocks were associated with lower intraoperative rescue fentanyl requirements than systemic analgesia alone, while block-related technical complications were uncommon. These techniques may represent useful components of multimodal anesthesia for selected dogs undergoing emergency laparotomy, providing opioid-sparing effects without increasing the incidence of intraoperative hypotension compared with systemic opioid analgesia alone.