Anesthesia and Analgesia in Swine

Preanesthesia, Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Euthanasia

“…Repeated bolus injections of these agents result in an unstable plane of anesthesia (Smith and Swindle, 2008;Swindle, 2007). Protocols that infuse these agents may be indicated in cases where inhalant anesthesia is not appropriate or is unavailable.…”

“…Combinations include ketamine/acepromazine, ketamine/azaperone, ketamine/diazepam, ketamine/ midazolam, ketamine/xylazine, ketamine/medetomidine, and telazol/xylazine Swindle, 2007;Smith and Swindle, 2008;Ko et al, 1997;Flecknell, 1997Flecknell, , 2009Portier and Slusser, 1985). These combinations typically require the addition of other agents, such as barbiturates, or the administration of inhalant agents via a face mask in order to provide enough relaxation for endotracheal intubation.…”

“…All of the combinations provide 20-30 min of restraint when administered IM or SC. Ketamine/ medetomidine and ketamine/midazolam have a protectant effect against cardiac arrhythmias and provide stable hemodynamics when administered as continuous IV infusions (Swindle, 2007;Smith and Swindle, 2008). Ketamine/ medetomidine may provide up to 45 min of chemical restraint as a single injection but rapidly induces hypothermia.…”

“…It may be combined with azaperone or ketamine to provide anesthesia suitable for minor surgery (Worek et al, 1988;Smith and Swindle, 2008). It is relatively ineffective as a sole agent for any purpose other than shortterm chemical restraint and it is a safe agent to use when cardiovascular compromise exists in the pig.…”

“…Research-oriented textbooks contain complete descriptions of anesthetic techniques and appropriate selection criteria for the various protocols specific to laboratory swine (Flecknell, 2009;Smith and Swindle, 2008;Swindle, 2007). Veterinary-oriented textbooks also contain useful information on anesthesia in swine, but care must be taken to consider the physiologic effects of the anesthetics on the research protocol (Riebold et al, 1995;Thurmon and Benson, 1986).…”