Local anaesthetic efficacy provided by lidocaine or lidocaine-tramadol in dogs undergoing maxillary fourth premolar extraction

Oral nerve blocks are an indispensable technique for pre-emptive pain management in various veterinary procedures, including tooth extractions. Local anaesthetic drugs are considered the safest and the most effective agents to inhibit oral pain. Recently, tramadol was used as an adjuvant to local anaes- thetics to increase the duration of analgesia. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of maxillary nerve block induced by lidocaine or lidocaine-tramadol on perioperative pain in dogs undergoing upper fourth premolar extraction. A randomized blinded clinical study was conducted over five months involving sixteen animals divided into two groups, Group L (8 animals, Group Lidocaine) and Group LT (8 animals, Group Lidocaine-Tramadol). Both drugs provided effective pain control during and after surgical intervention, but lidocaine-tramadol resulted in longer analgesia than lidocaine alone. These findings suggest that the maxillary nerve block with lidocaine-tramadol can ensure adequate and prolonged pain control in dogs undergoing dental extraction. Although these are preliminary results, tramadol showed promising effects as a potential drug to use during oral surgery in association to local anaesthetics.