Ketamine and its combination with pentazocine and meperidine for epidural anaesthesia in dogs
The Indian Journal of Animal Sciences September 17, 2014 R P Ram, L L Dass, A K Sharma
In 15 clinically healthy dogs about 1 year old, epidural ketamine alone or combined with either pentazocine or meperidine produced effective analgesia. The ketamine–pentazocine combination gave the quickest onset of analgesia (3.68 minutes), followed by ketamine–meperidine (3.88 minutes) and ketamine alone (4.08 minutes). The combinations also provided significantly longer duration of analgesia, standing time, and recovery time than ketamine alone. Rectal temperature, heart rate, and respiration changed initially but returned toward normal within 120 minutes. No group showed significant difference in duration of recumbency. Untoward reactions were minimal, transient, and occasional. Pentazocine and meperidine can be given epidurally with ketamine for effective analgesia in dogs.