RESUMO
We aimed to determine the analgesic efficacy and clinical or histopathological neurotoxicity of epidural single-dose lornoxicam. Caudal epidural catheters were inserted into 28 rabbits, divided into four groups, on day 1. Pain latency and degree of motor and sensory loss for each animal for different concentrations of lornoxicam were determined on day 2. All animals were sacrificed on day 3 and laminectomy was performed. Five-mum thick sections of spinal cord, obtained from two segments caudal and two segments rostral from tip of the catheter, were fixed and were stained and evaluated by light microscopy. Lornoxicam produced dose-dependent analgesia (increase in pain latency), brief, mild and reversible motor and sensory block, and histopathological signs of neurotoxicity. Clinical application of epidural lornoxicam should proceed with caution.