Laboratory Animals > Volume 34, Number 3 > Pp. 244-251

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hedenqvist, P. Articles by Flecknell, P. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Papers

Sufentanil and medetomidine anaesthesia in the rat and its reversal with atipamezole and butorphanol

P. Hedenqvist, J. V. Roughan and P. A. Flecknell

Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Comparative Biology Centre, Medical School, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK; Comparative Biology Centre, Medical School, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK

Injectable anaesthetics are widely used to anaesthetize rats, but recovery times are often prolonged. Reversible anaesthetic regimens have the advantage that animals may be recovered quickly, thus reducing the incidence of postoperative complications such as hypothermia, and also providing a means of treating inadvertent anaesthetic overdose. This study assessed and compared the characteristics of anaesthesia induced with combinations of sufentanil and medetomidine administered as a single subcutaneous or intraperitoneal dose, and reversal with butorphanol and atipamezole. Combinations of sufentanil/medetomidine at 40 µg/150 µg and 50 µg/150 µg/kg administered subcutaneously, and 80 µg/300 µg/kg by intraperitoneal injection were found to produce surgical anaesthesia for 101 ± 49, 124 ± 45 and 76 ± 23 min (means ± SD) respectively. All three combinations produced marked respiratory depression 30min after injection (< 50% of resting respiratory rate). Oxygen saturation, measured by pulse oximetry, was < 50% in all groups 30 min following drug administration. Subcutaneous administration is recommended since it resulted in a more reliable and more rapid induction of anaesthesia than intraperitoneal administration. The administration of butorphanol and atipamezole (0.2/0.5 mg/kg s.c.) resulted in a rapid (< 7 min) reversal of anaesthesia and an associated respiratory depression. The induction of anaesthesia with sufentanil/medetomidine and its reversal with a combination of atipamezole and butorphanol is an effective technique for anaesthetizing rats. However, due to the marked respiratory depression and the resulting hypoxia, we recommend that this regimen should only be used in animals which are free from respiratory disease and that oxygen should be provided during anaesthesia.

Key Words: RAT • ANAESTHESIA • SUFENTANIL • MEDETOMIDINE • ATIPAMEZOLE • BUTORPHANOL

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?