Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: TATHIANA ALVES MARQUES

EVALUATION OF IOHEXOL RADIOGRAPHIC CONTRAST DISPERSION IN THE EPIDURAL SPACE OF TORTIES (Chelonoides carbonaria), USING THE EPIDUROGRAPHY TECHNIQUE

anesthesia, analgesia, neuraxial, chelonians

Currently, there is a high demand for veterinary medical care for exotic animals. Much of the clinical and surgical case series includes orthopedic surgeries, oviduct, reproductive phallus and cloaca prolapses and penectomy, therefore, the need for anesthetic procedures in these animals is not uncommon. Locoregional anesthesia is a technique where drugs are used with the aim of blocking the region that will be operated on, preventing the generation and conduction of painful stimuli. It is a technique that promotes pain blockage during surgery and postoperative analgesia, reduced inhalation and injectable anesthetic requirements, greater vascular stability, rapid recovery after anesthesia and rapid return of gastrointestinal function. Among the locoregional anesthesia techniques, epidural anesthesia can be highlighted. The drugs most used by this route are local anesthetics, this requires that studies be constant and current, to know the real behavior of drugs by this route.

Contrast studies are generally carried out before local anesthetics are used via the epidural route, in order to determine the most appropriate volume to produce anesthesia in a given area. Contrast dispersion can be assessed by epidurography, after injection of low osmolarity contrast, usually ioversol or ioversol. The objective of the present study will be to evaluate the dispersion of radiographic contrast iohexol in the epidural space of tortoises (Chelonoides carbonaria), using the epidurography technique. 12 adult animals of the Jabuti-piranga species (C. carbonaria) will be selected, weighing an average of 10 kilos, measuring an average of 30 centimeters, which will be positioned in prone position, on the edge of the table, with the hind limbs outside the limits of the table. same. Skin antisepsis will be performed on the dorsal region of the tail, the intervertervertebral space closest to the carapace will be located and the puncture will be performed with a 20x5.5 needle. The volume of contrast will be calculated based on the calculation used to calculate the volume necessary to promote analgesia of the hind limbs in the species studied. The carapace will be measured with a measuring tape from the cranial edge to the caudal edge. 0.2 ml of iohexol contrast will be used for every 5 cm of carapace. The spinal x-ray will be taken at 5 and 25 minutes after contrast injection into the epidural space, in the right latero-lateral and ventro-dorsal views. With the aid of digitized radiographic images, the cranial progression of contrast will be measured using tools from the digital radiographic development system. Searching for information on locoregional anesthesia in the neuraxial tortoise (Chelonoides carbonaria) can improve the quality of anesthetic and surgical procedures in this species.