Analgesia Adjuncts

Multimodal analgesia has become a cornerstone of modern veterinary pain management, and analgesic adjuncts offer valuable opportunities to improve patient comfort while reducing reliance on traditional anesthetic and opioid medications. This session will explore commonly used adjunctive therapies, including ketamine, lidocaine, alpha-2 agonists, gabapentin, amantadine, etc. Attendees will review the mechanisms of action, indications, benefits, and limitations of these therapies, along with practical guidance for incorporating them into anesthetic and analgesic plans.

• Describe the mechanisms of action and clinical applications of commonly used analgesic adjuncts in veterinary patients.
• Compare the advantages and limitations of various adjunctive analgesic therapies as part of a multimodal pain management strategy.
• Develop patient-specific analgesic plans that incorporate adjunctive therapies to improve comfort and reduce anesthetic requirements.