Behavioural and cardiorespiratory effects of a constant rate infusion of medetomidine and morphine for sedation during standing laparoscopy in horses.
Abstract: Standing surgical procedures are performed commonly in horses under sedation. This approach minimises the morbidity/mortality risks associated with general anaesthesia. The use of a medetomidine and morphine combination has not been investigated in horses despite the usefulness of each drug individually. Objective: To determine the efficacy of a medetomidine and morphine combination to produce standing sedation with minimal cardiorespiratory changes and adequate analgesia for exploratory laparascopy in mature horses. Objective: The combination of medetomidine and morphine will induce reliable sedation with minimal cardiorespiratory changes. Methods: Medetomidine (5 microg/kg bwt i.v.) followed in 10 min by morphine (50 microg/kg bwt i.v.) and 10 min later by a constant rate infusion (CRI) of medetomidine and morphine (5 and 30 microg/kg bwt/h, respectively) was administered in 7 horses undergoing standing exploratory laparoscopy. Quality of sedation and cardiorespiratory function were assessed. Results: Sedation was satisfactory after the medetomidine and morphine bolus. The CRI of both drugs enhanced sedation and ataxia. Mean visual analogue scores on a scale of 10 varied between 7.8 and 8.8 and were similar between anaesthesiologists and surgeons. Heart rate, respiratory rate and packed cell volume (PCV) decreased significantly after medetomidine and, at some periods, during the CRI. Blood pressure only increased significantly at 5 min and arterial O2 decreased significantly at 10 min post medetomidine. PCV remained significantly lower and total protein decreased post morphine and CRI administration. Arterial CO2 increased towards the end of the CRI. Cardiac output did not change significantly over time. Conclusions: The combination of medetomidine and morphine results in reliable sedation and stable cardiorespiratory function in horses undergoing exploratory laparascopy.
Publication Date: 2009-05-08 PubMed ID: 19418744DOI: 10.2746/042516408x342984Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research looks into the combination of medetomidine and morphine as a method for achieving standing sedation in horses during an exploratory laparoscopy procedure. The study discovered that this drug combination resulted in sufficient sedation without significant alterations in cardiorespiratory function.
Objective and Methodology
- The research aims to establish the effectiveness of medetomidine and morphine in ensuring standing sedation in horses with minimal impact on their cardiorespiratory functions and sufficient analgesia during exploratory laparoscopy.
- To achieve this, a dose of medetomidine was first administered in 7 horses followed by morphine 10 minutes later. A constant rate infusion (CRI) of both medetomidine and morphine was then introduced after another 10 minutes.
- The anaesthesiologists closely evaluated the quality of sedation and the cardiorespiratory functions of the horses throughout the process.
Key Findings
- The administration of medetomidine and morphine provided satisfactory sedation. The sedation was further enhanced by the constant rate infusion of the two drugs.
- The combination of the two drugs led to significantly decreased heart rate, respiratory rate, and packed cell volume (PCV) after administering medetomidine and at some points during the CRI.
- There was a noticeable increase in blood pressure 5 minutes post medetomidine and a significant decrease in arterial O2 ten minutes after.
- Both packed cell volume and total protein decreased significantly following the administration of morphine and during the CRI. Towards the end of the CRI, there was an increase in arterial CO2, but cardiac output remained unchanged.
Conclusion
- Based on the results, the researchers concluded that a combination of medetomidine and morphine is effective in ensuring reliable sedation in horses undergoing exploratory laparoscopy.
- The study also found out that the combination does not significantly alter the cardiorespiratory functions, thus affirming the safety and efficacy of the method.
Cite This Article
APA
Solano AM, Valverde A, Desrochers A, Nykamp S, Boure LP.
(2009).
Behavioural and cardiorespiratory effects of a constant rate infusion of medetomidine and morphine for sedation during standing laparoscopy in horses.
Equine Vet J, 41(2), 153-159.
https://doi.org/10.2746/042516408x342984 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada.
MeSH Terms
- Analgesics, Opioid / administration & dosage
- Analgesics, Opioid / adverse effects
- Animals
- Blood Gas Analysis / veterinary
- Blood Pressure / drug effects
- Drug Therapy, Combination
- Female
- Heart Rate / drug effects
- Horses / physiology
- Hypnotics and Sedatives / administration & dosage
- Hypnotics and Sedatives / adverse effects
- Infusions, Intravenous / veterinary
- Laparoscopy / methods
- Laparoscopy / veterinary
- Male
- Medetomidine / administration & dosage
- Medetomidine / adverse effects
- Morphine / administration & dosage
- Morphine / adverse effects
- Respiration / drug effects
Citations
This article has been cited 10 times.- Vullo C, Gugliandolo E, Biondi V, Biffarella M, Catone G, Tambella AM. Comparison of Detomidine or Romifidine in Combination with Morphine for Standing Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Horses. Vet Sci 2024 Mar 8;11(3).
- Straticò P, Guerri G, Palozzo A, Varasano V, Petrizzi L. Current Use of Equine Laparoscopy in Urogenital Disorders: A Scoping Review of the Literature from 2000 to 2021. Vet Sci 2022 Jan 22;9(2).
- Troya-Portillo L, López-Sanromán J, Villalba-Orero M, Santiago-Llorente I. Cardiorespiratory, Sedative and Antinociceptive Effects of a Medetomidine Constant Rate Infusion with Morphine, Ketamine or Both. Animals (Basel) 2021 Jul 13;11(7).
- de Oliveira AR, Gozalo-Marcilla M, Ringer SK, Schauvliege S, Fonseca MW, Esteves Trindade PH, Prospero Puoli Filho JN, Luna SPL. Development and validation of the facial scale (FaceSed) to evaluate sedation in horses. PLoS One 2021;16(6):e0251909.
- Valverde A. Fluid Resuscitation for Refractory Hypotension. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:621696.
- Kim A, Sasaki N, Lee I, Seo JP. Comparison of intraoperative cardiorespiratory and behavioral responses to medetomidine combined with tramadol or butorphanol during standing laparoscopic ovariectomy in horses. J Vet Med Sci 2021 Apr 9;83(4):643-647.
- Davis JL, Schirmer J, Medlin E. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and clinical use of trazodone and its active metabolite m-chlorophenylpiperazine in the horse. J Vet Pharmacol Ther 2018 Jun;41(3):393-401.
- Carregaro AB, Freitas GC, Ribeiro MH, Xavier NV, Dória RG. Physiological and analgesic effects of continuous-rate infusion of morphine, butorphanol, tramadol or methadone in horses with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced carpal synovitis. BMC Vet Res 2014 Dec 21;10:966.
- Escalona EE, Okell CN, Archer DC. Prevalence of and risk factors for colic in horses that display crib-biting behaviour. BMC Vet Res 2014;10 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S3.
- Hendrickson DA. A review of equine laparoscopy. ISRN Vet Sci 2012;2012:492650.
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