Role of anaesthesia in cattle horn injuries

Abstract

Introduction:Cattle horn injuries are common in rural areas. Injury severity varies from minor wounds to fatal polytrauma. As most of the cases need surgical intervention, anaesthesia plays a key role from initial management to postoperative pain relief. Consideration of type of anaesthesia in such cases bears an effect on surgical outcome.Materials and Methods:A retrospective analysis of 19 cattle horn injuries admitted to surgical ward in SSM hospital and Mangala Hospital, hassan between June 2010 to May 2012 was doneResults:68.4% of total patients were male and 47.36% of patients had sustained abdominal injuries. Among 19 patients who were taken for surgical exploration, 11 patients (57.89%) needed spinal anaesthesia, 07 patients (36.84%) needed general anaesthesia and 1 patient (5.26%) needed local anaesthesia. 4 patients (21.05%) had intraoperative hypotension due to blood loss and needed blood transfusions.17 patients(89.47%) reported good postoperative pain relief. Conclusion:Anaesthesia plays a key role in the management of cattle horn injuries. Selection of type of anaesthesia has a direct bearing on intraoperative and postoperative outcomes. Most of the patients undergoing surgery are managed with spinal anaesthesia.