ULTRASOUND-GUIDED BILATERAL QUADRATUS LUMBORUM BLOCK IN DOGS UNDERGOING ABDOMINAL SURGERY: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY.

Bilateral QLB reduces intraoperative fentanyl and anesthetic requirements in dogs undergoing abdominal surgery.

This retrospective cohort study evaluated the analgesic efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided bilateral quadratus lumborum block (QLB) in dogs undergoing abdominal laparotomy. Eighty-six dogs were divided into two groups: 46 received QLB with ropivacaine (median 2.50 mg/kg at 0.3% concentration), while 40 received systemic analgesics including fentanyl, lidocaine, and ketamine. The QLB group demonstrated significantly reduced intraoperative fentanyl consumption (0.00 versus 0.07 µg/kg/min) and lower minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) values (0.857 versus 0.935), indicating decreased anesthetic requirements. Importantly, there were no significant differences in hypotension incidence or cardiovascular interventions between groups. In the systemic analgesic group, hypotension correlated with lower MAC values, while this correlation was absent in the QLB group. These findings suggest that bilateral QLB provides effective regional anesthesia for abdominal surgery in dogs, reducing reliance on systemic opioids and volatile anesthetics while maintaining cardiovascular stability.

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