Epidural Administration of Tramadol as an Analgesic Technique in Dogs Submitted to Stifle Surgery

3 ABSTRACT Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic with ∝-opioid, monoaminergic, and local anesthetic effects. In view of the involve- ment of the opioid and monoaminergic sys- tems in pain pathways, the study was conducted to evaluate tramadol as an epidural analgesic in dogs. Ten healthy adult dogs (mean ± SEM body weight = 17.3 ± 3.8 kg) were premedicated with ace- promazine (0.05 mg/kg, IM), induced with thiopental (10 mg/kg, IV), and maintained under anesthesia with halothane in oxygen. Twenty minutes after starting halothane anesthesia, tramadol (1.0 mg/kg in 0.22 mL/kg of sterile water) was administered