A Comparison of Anesthetic and Cardiorespiratory
Effects of Tiletamine-Zolazepam/Xylazine and Tiletamine-Zolazepam/Xylazine/Tramadol
in Dogs
De-Zhang Lu, Sheng Jiang1, Shi-Ming Yu and Hong-Gang Fan1*
Department of Veterinary Surgery, College of
Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi
712100, P.R.China; 1Department of Veterinary Surgery,
College of Veterinary
Medicine; Northeast Agricultural University; Harbin 150030;
P.R.China *Corresponding author:fanhonggang2002@163.com
Abstract
This study compared the
anesthetic and cardiorespiratory effects of 3 intramuscular anesthetic
combinations in 8 dogs. Tiletamine-zolazepam (8 mg kg-1) and
xylazine (0.5 mg kg-1) (TZX); Tiletamine-zolazepam (8 mg kg-1),
xylazine (0.5 mg kg-1) and tramadol (2 mg kg-1) (TZXT); or
the TZXT protocol plus atipamezole (0.05 mg kg-1) given 30 min later
to reverse xylazine, were administered. Immobilization and analgesia scores of
the dogs and baseline physiological parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate,
non-invasive systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressures, arterial
hemoglobin oxygen saturation, and rectal temperature) were determined. All 3
combinations effectively induced anesthesia, and dogs became laterally recumbent
within 5 min. The changes in physiological parameters after administration of
the drug combinations remained within biologically acceptable limits. While both
TZX and TZXT appeared to be effective injectable anesthetic combinations, TZXT
provided significantly better analgesia with a longer duration than did TZX.
Atipamezole administration provided effective antagonism and no adverse effects
were observed in this study.