Comparison of three injectable anaesthetic techniques in pigs

Abstract

Forty-six near-adult pigs (mean age 10 months, mean weight 156 kg) were anaesthetised for laparoscopy. After intramuscular azaperone (1.0 mg/kg) and ketamine (2.5 mg/kg), 14 of the pigs received intravenous etomidate (200 micrograms/kg) and midazolam (100 micrograms/kg) and 17 were given ketamine (2 mg/kg) and midazolam (100 micrograms/kg). The other 15 pigs were anaesthetised with pentobarbitone (15 to 20 mg/kg) without pre-anaesthetic medication. The duration and adequacy of anaesthesia, recovery rate, and seven physiological variables (ECG, heart rate, indirect arterial blood pressure, respiratory rate, minute volume, mean end-tidal carbon dioxide concentration and percentage oxygen saturation of haemoglobin) were compared. Repeated injections were needed in 29 of the 46 cases. Pentobarbitone was the least satisfactory drug because although the haemodynamic variables were greater, it caused more respiratory depression and a higher overall complication rate than the other methods. Apnoea occurred in two pigs, and was fatal in one, and positive pressure ventilation with oxygen was needed in three others. Intubation conditions were poorer and the times to standing, walking and rooting were longer in the pigs anaesthetised with pentobarbitone.

Comparison of azaperone–detomidine–butorphanol–ketamine and azaperone–tiletamine–zolazepam for anaesthesia in piglets

“…Azaperone is one of the most widely used sedatives in swine (Moon & Smith 1996). It can be combined with ketamine for immobilization or premedication of pigs (Moon & Smith 1996; Clutton et al. 1997).…”

Body temperature evaluation during induced pneumoperitoneum with CO2: an experimental study in pigs

“…Thus, initial sedation was performed with a dissociative anesthetic, which permitted good induction and tracheal intubation and provided an anesthetic plan which would allow for better muscular relaxation [26]. Anesthetic induction was performed with sodium thiopental, which has little influence on the thermoregulatory center and had been used in previous thermoregulatory studies in pigs [23,27,28]. A muscle relaxant was also used in order to prevent heat production from the animal's tonus and contractions and to standardize respiratory rate and heat loss through the airways [26].…”

Anesthetic agents and complications in Vietnamese potbellied pigs: 27 cases (1999–2006)

“…As a result, the initial vaporizer setting after induction of anesthesia in these instances was lower than that used in instances when pigs were premedicated with BAMX. 1,3,[16][17][18] Administration of ketamine without adequate sedation results in anesthesia characterized by poor muscle relaxation and responsiveness to surgical stimuli and recoveries marked by agitation, disorientation, vocalization, and ataxia, all of which are signs that might be of concern to owners. 13 Although these differences in the effects of medetomidine and xylazine were observed in the potbellied pigs in the present study, the dose of medetomidine was less than that used in domestic pigs yet still provided effective sedation.…”