Peripheral nerve blocks play a critical role in pain management; however, no technique has been described to specifically target the articular nerve branches of the elbow in dogs. This study aimed to develop and compare the success rate of an ultrasound-guided versus a blind pericapsular elbow desensitization (PED) technique in canine cadavers. Phase I involved gross and ultrasonographic evaluations of the elbow joint in four cadavers to identify landmarks for the PED technique. Phase II compared the ultrasound-guided and blind PED techniques using dye injections in eight cadavers, followed by the dissection and histological analysis of stained tissues to confirm nerve involvement. The results demonstrated that four quadrant injections are required to target the articular branches of the radial, ulnar, median, and musculocutaneous nerves. The ultrasound-guided technique achieved a significantly higher overall success rate (77.5%) than the blind technique (45%, p = 0.005). While both techniques showed similar success rates (50-62.5%) for the ulnar, median, and musculocutaneous branches, the ultrasound-guided technique (100%) outperformed the blind technique for the cranial (37%, p = 0.02) and caudal (12.5%, p = 0.001) articular branches of the radial nerve. These findings provide a foundation for future clinical studies evaluating the ultrasound-guided PED technique in live animals.
Keywords: canine; innervation; interventional pain medicine; joint; osteoarthritis; regional anesthesia; ultrasound.