Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia
January 1, 2025
Maria Koura, Eleni Koliou, Stavroula Kourmpeti et al.
1 citation
An 8-month-old male cat presented for routine neutering was accidentally given a combined formulation of medetomidine and vatinoxan instead of medetomidine alone. After ketamine injection, the cat developed excitement (mydriasis, head tilting, ataxia) and tachycardia (heart rate increased from 140 to 280 beats per minute). Midazolam reversed the agitation, and the cat recovered fully within an hour. The medication error likely resulted from trainee involvement, similar vial appearance, and inadequate supervision. Vatinoxan may have offset medetomidine's bradycardic effect, while reduced medetomidine levels failed to counteract ketamine's excitatory effects. The single-case observation limits causal conclusions.
Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia
March 7, 2025
Desislava Bekkat-Berkani, Joanna Raszplewicz, Natalie Duffy
A 1-year-old male English Springer Spaniel developed tension pneumothorax shortly after intubation when the endotracheal tube was mistakenly connected to the auxiliary oxygen flowmeter instead of the breathing circuit. Prompt diagnosis based on reduced lung compliance, bradycardia, second-degree atrioventricular block, and barrel-shaped chest led to emergency needle thoracocentesis and bilateral thoracostomy tube placement. Computed tomography proceeded as scheduled with an added thoracic scan. Anesthesia was maintained with propofol and ketamine infusions. Hospital review identified active and system failures, notably a 22 mm connector that fit both the endotracheal tube and oxygen mask. The auxiliary oxygen flowmeter was subsequently removed from preoxygenation use.
Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia
January 1, 2025
Monica Midon, Stuart C Clark-Price, Hui-Chu Lin et al.
In healthy adult horses, serum iron concentrations drop during and after general anesthesia with isoflurane and remain low for at least 24 hours. Before anesthesia, average serum iron was 152 μg/dL; it fell to 136 μg/dL after 60 minutes of anesthesia, 133 μg/dL after 120 minutes, 136 μg/dL immediately after recovery, and 63 μg/dL 24 hours after induction. This acute decrease suggests that general anesthesia may interfere with using serum iron levels to detect or monitor systemic disease and inflammation in horses.
Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia
January 1, 2025
Silke Pfitzer, Liesel L Laubscher, Jacobus P Raath et al.
Two drug combinations, BAM and KBAM, both reliably immobilized giraffes for 30 minutes, but KBAM (which includes ketamine) produced faster induction—6.3 minutes versus 17.1 minutes for BAM alone. All giraffes experienced hypoxaemia (low blood oxygen) and hyperlactataemia (high lactate), with average oxygen levels of 52 mmHg (BAM) and 41 mmHg (KBAM). Recoveries were calm with minimal unsteadiness. Because of clinically significant hypoxaemia, oxygen supplementation is recommended when using either combination.
Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia
January 1, 2025
Bruno H Pypendop, Yu Hong Law, Juhana Honkavaara et al.
In healthy male cats, combining the sedative dexmedetomidine with vatinoxan and ketamine alters how the drugs move through the body. Vatinoxan increases the clearance of dexmedetomidine and reduces the bioavailability of intramuscular ketamine. Higher ketamine doses increase dexmedetomidine's central volume of distribution and improve intramuscular ketamine's bioavailability. Two-compartment models best described the time-plasma concentrations for all three drugs. The volume of distribution at steady state ranged from 1012 to 2429 mL/kg for dexmedetomidine, was 666 mL/kg for vatinoxan, and 2260 mL/kg for ketamine. Metabolic clearance was 12.5–15.4 mL/min/kg for dexmedetomidine, 3.7 for vatinoxan, and 23.8 for ketamine. Bioavailability for intramuscular and subcutaneous routes varied from 60% to 100%.