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. 2016 Jul 1;78(6):929-36.
doi: 10.1292/jvms.15-0159. Epub 2016 Feb 11.

The pharmacological effects of intramuscular administration of alfaxalone combined with medetomidine and butorphanol in dogs

Jun Tamura  1 , Naohiro Hatakeyama, Tomohito Ishizuka, Takaharu Itami, Sho Fukui, Kenjiro Miyoshi, Tadashi Sano, Kirby Pasloske, Kazuto Yamashita
Affiliations

The pharmacological effects of intramuscular administration of alfaxalone combined with medetomidine and butorphanol in dogs

Jun Tamura et al. J Vet Med Sci. .

Abstract

The pharmacological effects of intramuscular (IM) administration of alfaxalone combined with medetomidine and butorphanol were evaluated in 6 healthy beagle dogs. Each dog received three treatments with a minimum 10-day interval between treatments. The dogs received an IM injection of alfaxalone 2.5 mg/kg (ALFX), medetomidine 2.5 µg/kg and butorphanol 0.25 mg/kg (MB), or their combination (MBA) 1 hr after the recovery from their instrumentation. Endotracheal intubation was attempted, and dogs were allowed to breath room air. Neuro-depressive effects (behavior changes and subjective scores) and cardiorespiratory parameters (rectal temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, direct blood pressure, central venous pressure and blood gases) were evaluated before and at 2 to 120 min after IM treatment. Each dog became lateral recumbency, except for two dogs administered the MB treatment. The duration was longer in the MBA treatment compared with the ALFX treatment (100 ± 48 min vs 46 ± 13 min). Maintenance of the endotracheal tube lasted for 60 ± 24 min in five dogs administered the MBA treatment and for 20 min in one dog administered the ALFX treatment. Cardiorespiratory variables were maintained within clinically acceptable ranges, although decreases in heart and respiratory rates, and increases in central venous pressure occurred after the MBA and MB treatments. The MBA treatment provided an anesthetic effect that permitted endotracheal intubation without severe cardiorespiratory depression in healthy dogs.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Median (± quartile deviation) total neuro-depressive scores in 6 dogs before (Baseline) and after the intramuscular (IM) treatments. Based on responsiveness expressed by the dogs, the categories of a composite measure scoring system were rated in scores 0 to 2 for jaw relaxation, 0 to 3 for placement of side, general attitude and toe-pinch response, or 0 to 4 for spontaneous posture and response to noise [30]. Total neuro-depressive score was calculated as a sum of scores in these 6 categories. ALFX: alfaxalone 2.5 mg/kg administered IM. MB: medetomidine 2.5 µg/kg and butorphanol 0.25 mg/kg coadministered IM. MBA: alfaxalone 2.5 mg/kg, medetomidine 2.5 µg/kg and butorphanol 0.25 mg/kg coadministered IM. †Significant difference from the ALFX group (P<0.05). ‡Significant difference from the MB group (P<0.05).
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