A comparison of two ketamine doses for field anaesthesia in horses undergoing castration
Summary Background Ketamine at 2.2 mg/kg given i.v. is often used to induce anaesthesia for surgical procedures in horses under field conditions. Commonly, additional doses are needed to complete the surgery. We hypothesised that surgical conditions would be improved when 5 mg/kg of ketamine was use...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Equine veterinary journal 2019-07, Vol.51 (4), p.458-463 |
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Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Summary
Background
Ketamine at 2.2 mg/kg given i.v. is often used to induce anaesthesia for surgical procedures in horses under field conditions. Commonly, additional doses are needed to complete the surgery. We hypothesised that surgical conditions would be improved when 5 mg/kg of ketamine was used to induce anaesthesia, while induction and recovery qualities would not differ from those when 2.2 mg/kg ketamine was used.
Objective
To compare the anaesthetic effects of two ketamine doses (5 and 2.2 mg/kg) during field anaesthesia for castration of horses.
Study design
Prospective, randomised, blinded, clinical study.
Method
Seventy‐seven client‐owned Icelandic horses presented for castration under field conditions were studied. Pre‐anaesthetic medication was xylazine (0.7 mg/kg) butorphanol (25 μg/kg) and acepromazine (50 μg/kg) injected i.v. Anaesthesia was induced with either 2.2 mg/kg (K2.2) or 5 mg/kg (K5) i.v. of ketamine mixed with diazepam (30 μg/kg). The quality of induction, surgical conditions and recovery were compared using subjective and objective measures, and the number of additional ketamine doses recorded.
Results
Ketamine 5 mg/kg provided better surgical conditions and a more rapid induction. Recovery quality was subjectively better in K2.2. Five horses in K2.2 and two in K5 required additional ketamine doses.
Main limitations
While the pre‐anaesthetic sedation and benzodiazepine doses were consistent among horses, the level of sedation and muscle relaxation achieved differed.
Conclusion
A ketamine dose of 5 mg/kg can be used to improve the quality of field anaesthesia for castration in Icelandic horses. Although recovery quality is subjectively better when using 2.2 mg/kg, no adverse events were observed during recovery with either dose
The Summary is available in Portuguese – see Supporting Information |
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ISSN: | 0425-1644 2042-3306 |
DOI: | 10.1111/evj.13052 |