Combined Medetomidine and Ketamine for Short-term Anaesthesia in Ferrets – a Clinical Study

Abstract

Rau‰er P., J. Zatloukal, A. Neãas, J. Lorenzová, L. Lexmaulová: Combined Medetomidine and Ketamine for Short-term Anaesthesia in Ferrets -a Clinical Study. Acta Vet. Brno 2002, 71: 243-248.In a clinical study we evaluated the quality of anaesthesia by a combination of medetomidine and ketamine given at two different doses to perform standard surgical procedures in the ferret (e.g., anal sac removal, castration or ovariohysterectomy). Ferrets were intramuscularly administered medetomidine (60 µg/kg) in a combination with ketamine given at two different doses (5 mg/kg in group A and 8 mg/kg in group B). Within several minutes all animals took up lateral recumbency, lost bottle the palpebral reflex and deep sensation except for three individuals receiving the lower ketamine dose, in which there was no deep sensation loss observed. Lower ketamin dose resulted in later loss of all evaluated parameters. It also reduced the time of their recovery (especially deep sensation). The loss of deep sensation after the higher ketamine dose was nearly twice as long as after the lower dose. Heart rate values were comparable in both groups and showed a decreasing tendency as well as the respiratory rate, which, however, differed in both groups from the 30 th min of anaesthesia. The combination of medetomidine and ketamine is very effective for the anaesthesia in ferrets regarding the duration, myorelaxation and analgesia. Prolongation of this anaesthesia is possible with half ketamine doses. α-adrenergic drugs; dissociative anesthetics

Medetomidine/midazolam/ketamine anaesthesia in ferrets: effects on cardiorespiratory parameters and evaluation of plasma drug concentrations

“…In the present experiment, the measured values decreased slightly after the initial measurement (markedly differing in group IM10) until T25 (Table 1), although the changes were not statistically significant. A similar trend was also reported by Rauser et al (2002) using a combination of medetomidine and ketamine for short-term anaesthesia. In contrast, in this study the PR of all treated animals increased again slightly at T25 and T30, which potentially might be caused by sympathetic stimulation and/or a response to hypovolaemia.…”

“…In the present experiment, the measured values decreased slightly after the initial measurement (markedly differing in group IM10) until T25 (Table 1), although the changes were not statistically significant. A similar trend was also reported by Rauser et al. (2002) using a combination of medetomidine and ketamine for short‐term anaesthesia.…”

“…In the present study, we did not detect evidence of cyanosis. Rauser et al. (2002) mentioned respiratory rates of 80 breaths minute −1 during medetomidine‐ketamine‐anaesthesia in ferrets, without doubt very high values.…”

Tendencies and perspectives of central alpha2-adrenomimetic application in medicobiological research

“…α2-AM in analgesic doses is known to cause muscle relaxation [37]. This effect is associated with inhibition of α2-AR at the level of the spinal cord interneurons [12].…”

Relation between end-tidal and arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure during general anaesthesia with spontaneous breathing and controlled ventilation in dogs: An experimental study

“…Capnometry is a widely used noninvasive substitute for PaCO 2 in anaesthesia, anaesthetic recovery and intensive care, although it is not a replacement for arterial blood gas analysis, but rather serves as an adjunctive monitoring tool (Cheng et al, 1999;Proulx, 1999). Besides dogs and cats, the most common patients in veterinary medicine, capnometry is also useful during anaesthesia of different animal species even during short-term injectable anaesthesia (Rau{er et al, 2002). During anaesthesia the method depends on connections between arterial CO 2 (PaCO 2 ), alveolar CO 2 (PACO 2 ) and CO 2 at the end of expiration (ETCO 2 ).…”