Immobilization of free-ranging cattle with medetomidine and its reversal by atipamezole

Abstract

Arnemo, J.M. and Soli, N.E., 1995. Immobilization of free-ranging cattle with medetomidine and its reversal by atipamezole.

A pharmacokinetic study including some relevant clinical effects of medetomidine and atipamezole in lactating dairy cows

“…It is possible that the dose of atipamezole relative to medetomidine (5 : 1) used in this study and in several others is too low for persistent reversal in the bovine. Arnemo & Søli (1993, 1995) used 2 mg atipamezole per mg medetomidine in free‐ranging cattle and reported resedation after 1–2 h or 3–4 h following the injection of atipamezole by the i.v. or intramuscular (i.m.)…”

“…A smaller dose would probably be sufficient to sedate an animal not experiencing stress or pain, but in a clinical situation, this is unusual ( Lumb & Jones,1996). Also, for the chemical capture of free‐ranging cattle, the dose of medetomidine is reported to be as high as 60–80 μg/kg ( Arnemo & Søli, 1995). Although a high dose of medetomidine was used to facilitate drug analysis, side‐effects, such as bradycardia and increased rectal temperature, did not represent clinical problems in these healthy cows.…”

Sedative and cardiopulmonary effects of medetomidine hydrochloride and xylazine hydrochloride and their reversal with atipamezole hydrochloride in calves

“…After reversal of medetomidine-induced effects with atipamezole, resedation has been detected at 80 minutes after administration of the reversal agent in dairy calves and cows 7,8 and at 1 to 2 hours or 3 to 4 hours after atipamezole administration IV or IM, respectively, in freeranging cattle. 16,17 In the present study, 2 of the calves were not considered to be resedated after medetomidine reversal, which may be attributable to the short period of observation (90 minutes) or to the criteria used to define resedation; we did not consider sternal recumbency a sign of resedation if the calves could stand effectively when stimulated and were bright, alert, and responsive. Both nonoccurrence 28,29 and occurrence 16 of resedation after reversal of xylazine with atipamezole in calves and free-ranging cattle have been reported.…”

“…[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Of the drugs of this class, medetomidine is the most potent, selective, and specific agonist (α 2 :α 1 selectivity ratio, 1:620) in both the peripheral and central nervous systems, 15 and as such, it may offer some advantages over xylazine. Although the use of medetomidine for immobilization of free-ranging cattle 16,17 and wild ruminants [18][19][20] has been reported, clinical characteristics of the sedation induced by medetomidine, compared with those of xylazine-induced sedation, have not been extensively evaluated in domestic cattle to our knowledge.…”

Remote chemical immobilisation method for free‐ranging Australian cattle

“…Remote delivery of chemical immobilisation (‘darting’) is commonly used for the capture of wildlife species, as well as domestic species, including aggressive dogs, unbroken horses and free‐ranging livestock . Despite the widespread use of darting, relatively little is known of its application to cattle, particularly in Australia. Factors to consider when developing any chemical immobilisation regimen include choosing chemicals that allow a low dart volume, produce a short induction time and ideally can be reversed by an antagonist drug .…”