Cardiopulmonary effects of buprenorphine in horses.

This research studied the effects of the drug buprenorphine on the heart and lung functions as well as abdominal sounds of horses. It found that administration of buprenorphine led to excitement and changes in heart and lung functions, with minimal impact on arterial blood gases.

Research Methodology

The subject of the study were six healthy adult horses. The research used a randomized crossover design, where horses were allocated to two groups with a gap of one week between each allocation. One group received Saline (0.9% NaCl) solution, serving as a control, while the other group was treated with buprenorphine. The cardiopulmonary data was collected for 120 minutes after administration of either the saline solution or the buprenorphine. Abdominal auscultation scores were monitored for 2 and 12 hours after drug administration in the control and experimental groups respectively.

Research Findings

• In the group treated with the saline solution, horses maintained their calm demeanor and there were no significant changes observed in their cardiopulmonary variables.
• Administration of buprenorphine caused noticeable excitatory phenomena in horses such as restlessness and head shaking.
• There was a significant increase in heart rate, cardiac index, and arterial blood pressure in horses after buprenorphine administration and this continued until the end of the observational period, which was 120 minutes.
• Minimal changes were observed in arterial blood gas tensions of horses treated with buprenorphine.
• Abdominal auscultation scores which are indicative of the horse’s gastrointestinal function decreased significantly from baseline for 4 hours after buprenorphine administration.

Research Conclusion and Future Work

The study concluded that buprenorphine induces excitement and affects heart and lung functions in horses with minimal changes in arterial blood gas tensions. This data is essential as it could affect the clinical use of the drug in horses. There was also a notable decrease in abdominal auscultation scores indicating a possible impact on gastrointestinal function. The researchers suggested that further study should be conducted to investigate the effect of buprenorphine on gastrointestinal motility and fecal output.