Summary
Lameness in dogs is often a diagnostic challenge. In many cases it is difficult to
determine the exact localisation of lameness because of the absence of palpable changes,
or because of unreliable pain response due to high pain tolerance, stress or aggression
of the dog. In horses and humans, intra-articular administration of local anaesthetics
is commonly used for diagnostic purposes. In this review, information from human and
veterinary studies on different local anaesthetic agents and their application for
diagnostic intra-articular anaesthesia is given. Based on this information, a protocol
for diagnostic intra-articular anaesthesia in the dog can be developed and evaluated
in future studies.
Keywords
Intra-articular anaesthesia - joint pain - mepivacaine - lameness diagnosis