Evaluation of intramuscular anesthetic protocols in healthy domestic horses.
Abstract: To assess anesthetic induction, recovery quality and cardiopulmonary variables after intramuscular (IM) injection of three drug combinations for immobilization of horses. Methods: Randomized, blinded, three-way crossover prospective design. Methods: A total of eight healthy adult horses weighing 470-575 kg. Methods: Horses were administered three treatments IM separated by ≥1 week. Combinations were tiletamine-zolazepam (1.2 mg kg), ketamine (1 mg kg) and detomidine (0.04 mg kg) (treatment TKD); ketamine (3 mg kg) and detomidine (0.04 mg kg) (treatment KD); and tiletamine-zolazepam (2.4 mg kg) and detomidine (0.04 mg kg) (treatment TD). Parametric data were analyzed using mixed model linear regression. Nonparametric data were compared using Skillings-Mack test. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: All horses in treatment TD became recumbent. In treatments KD and TKD, one horse remained standing. PaO 15 minutes after recumbency was significantly lower in treatments TD (p < 0.0005) and TKD (p = 0.001) than in treatment KD. Times to first movement (25 ± 15 minutes) and sternal recumbency (55 ± 11 minutes) in treatment KD were faster than in treatments TD (57 ± 17 and 76 ± 19 minutes; p < 0.0005, p = 0.001) and TKD (45 ± 18 and 73 ± 31 minutes; p = 0.005, p = 0.021). There were no differences in induction quality, muscle relaxation score, number of attempts to stand or recovery quality. Conclusions: In domestic horses, IM injections of tiletamine-zolazepam-detomidine resulted in more reliable recumbency with a longer duration when compared with ketamine-detomidine and tiletamine-zolazepam-ketamine-detomidine. Recoveries were comparable among protocols.
Copyright © 2021 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021-06-23 PubMed ID: 34266761DOI: 10.1016/j.vaa.2021.06.006Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Veterinary
Summary
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The study investigates the impact of different anesthetic drug combinations, administered intramuscularly, on the immobilization of healthy horses. The researchers compared the efficacy of three drug combinations, focusing on anesthetic induction, recovery quality, and cardiopulmonary variables.
Research Design and Methodology
- This is a prospective study adopting a randomized, blinded, three-way crossover design on eight healthy adult horses, each weighing between 470 and 575 kg.
- The horses were subjected to three different treatments, each administered intramuscularly and spaced by at least one week. The treatments involved diverse combinations of anesthetics:
- Treatment TKD: tiletamine-zolazepam (1.2 mg kg), ketamine (1 mg kg), and detomidine (0.04 mg kg).
- Treatment KD: ketamine (3 mg kg) and detomidine (0.04 mg kg).
- Treatment TD: tiletamine-zolazepam (2.4 mg kg) and detomidine (0.04 mg kg).
- The different data types were analyzed using relevant statistical methods. Parametric data were probed using mixed model linear regression, while nonparametric data were analyzed via the Skillings-Mack test. A p value less than 0.05 was determined as statistically significant.
Key Results
- All horses under treatment TD (tiletamine-zolazepam and detomidine) successfully reached a state of recumbency. This was not entirely the case for the KD (ketamine and detomidine) and TKD (tiletamine-zolazepam, ketamine, and detomidine) treatments wherein one horse remained standing in each setup.
- 15 minutes after reaching recumbency, blood oxygen levels (PaO) were markedly lower in the TD and TKD treatments compared to the KD treatment, indicating a difference in cardiopulmonary impact.
- Treatment KD saw faster times to first movement and sternal recumbency compared to treatments TD and TKD, signifying quicker recovery times.
- Nonetheless, there were no significant dissimilarities across the treatments in terms of induction quality, muscle relaxation score, number of attempts to stand, or recovery quality.
Conclusion
- The study concludes that in domestic horses, intramuscular injections of tiletamine-zolazepam and detomidine yield a more reliable and longer span of recumbency in contrast to the other drug combinations under scrutiny.
- However, in terms of recovery, the three treatment protocols were found to be relatively comparable.
Cite This Article
APA
Willette C, Aarnes TK, Lerche P, Ricco-Pereira C, Ballash GA, Bednarski RM.
(2021).
Evaluation of intramuscular anesthetic protocols in healthy domestic horses.
Vet Anaesth Analg, 48(5), 663-670.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaa.2021.06.006 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Electronic address: aarnes.1@osu.edu.
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Anesthetics / pharmacology
- Animals
- Drug Combinations
- Heart Rate / drug effects
- Horses
- Ketamine / pharmacology
- Prospective Studies
- Tiletamine / pharmacology
Citations
This article has been cited 1 times.- Lambertini C, Boanini E, Casalini I, Spaccini F, Rinnovati R, Romagnoli N. Comparison of Ketamine/Diazepam and Tiletamine/Zolazepam Combinations for Anaesthesia Induction in Horses Undergoing Partial Intravenous Anaesthesia (PIVA): A Retrospective Clinical Study. Vet Sci 2024 Nov 30;11(12).
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