Preanesthetic Administration of Trazodone Does Not Impact Anesthetic Recovery Scores in Horses.
Abstract: Trazodone is administered to hospitalized equine patients to aid in behavioral management, but the effects on the anesthetic recovery period have not been investigated. This study sought to determine if there is an association between trazodone administration and recovery quality, recovery time, need for sedation, or need for reversal agent administration. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in recovery scores, recovery time, additional sedation, or reversal agent administration between horses that received preanesthetic trazodone and horses that did not. Records were reviewed to identify horses undergoing orthopedic MRI between January 2022 and January 2025. Of these horses, 19 were administered trazodone prior to anesthesia and 38 horses that did not receive trazodone were selected as case-matched controls. Signalment, anesthetic drug protocol, complications during anesthesia, duration of anesthesia, duration of recovery, recovery scores, recovery complications, sedation agents, and reversal agents administered during recovery were recorded. Trazodone administration was not associated with a significant difference in recovery scores between groups. Trazodone administration was not associated with a difference in recovery time or differences in sedation and reversal agent administration. Trazodone administration prior to anesthesia in horses undergoing orthopedic MRI did not impact the recovery period.
Publication Date: 2025-10-06 PubMed ID: 41096502PubMed Central: PMC12523880DOI: 10.3390/ani15192907Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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Overview
- This study examined whether giving horses the drug trazodone before anesthesia affects their recovery quality, recovery time, or the need for additional sedation or reversal agents during recovery.
- The research found that preanesthetic trazodone administration did not significantly impact any of these recovery-related factors in horses undergoing orthopedic MRI procedures.
Purpose of the Study
- Trazodone is commonly used in horses to help manage behavior during hospitalization.
- The researchers wanted to understand if trazodone given before anesthesia would affect the recovery period after anesthesia.
- Specifically, they looked to see if trazodone influenced:
- Recovery quality scores
- Duration of the recovery period
- The need for additional sedation during recovery
- The need for reversal agents (medications used to counter effects of anesthesia or sedation)
Study Design and Methods
- The team reviewed medical records of horses that underwent orthopedic MRI between January 2022 and January 2025.
- Two groups of horses were analyzed:
- 19 horses administered trazodone before anesthesia
- 38 horses not given trazodone, selected to match the first group on variables such as age, sex, etc. (case-matched controls)
- Data collected included:
- Signalment (basic animal information like age, breed, weight)
- Details of anesthesia protocols
- Complications during anesthesia and recovery
- Length of anesthesia and recovery times
- Recovery quality scores assigned by clinicians
- Use of sedation or reversal agents during recovery
Key Findings
- No significant difference was found in recovery quality scores between trazodone-treated and untreated horses.
- Recovery duration was similar regardless of trazodone administration.
- There was no observed difference in the requirement for additional sedation during recovery between the two groups.
- The need to administer reversal agents was also not influenced by preanesthetic trazodone treatment.
Conclusions and Implications
- Trazodone, when given prior to anesthesia for orthopedic MRI in horses, does not adversely affect recovery outcomes.
- This suggests trazodone can be safely used for behavioral management before anesthesia without concern for complicating anesthetic recovery.
- Veterinarians can confidently use trazodone during the preanesthetic period without fearing negative impacts on recovery quality or increased medication needs during recovery.
Cite This Article
APA
Joseph EJ, Love L, Mayakis M, Varner K.
(2025).
Preanesthetic Administration of Trazodone Does Not Impact Anesthetic Recovery Scores in Horses.
Animals (Basel), 15(19), 2907.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15192907 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
- College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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