Effects of a constant rate infusion of medetomidine-propofol on isoflurane minimum alveolar concentrations in horses

摘要

The aim of this investigation was to determine the isoflurane-sparing effect and impact on arterial blood pressure and anaesthetic recovery of a constant rate infusion of medetomidine-propofol in horses. In a prospective, crossover, randomised study, six healthy horses (mean +/- SD age, 13.7 +/- 7.7 years; weight, 433 +/- 51 kg) were anaesthetised twice with isoflurane and were randomly assigned to receive one of two treatments on each occasion, at least 2 weeks apart. The first treatment was saline (CTL group) and the second a medetomidine-propofol infusion (MP group; 1.25 mu g/kg/h medetomidine and 3 mg/kg/h propofol). The isoflurane minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) was determined and the reduction in anaesthetic requirements was calculated. Cardiopulmonary data were recorded at different intervals during the procedure and anaesthetic recovery was blindly assessed using three independent scales.