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Incidence of seizures associated with the use of acepromazine in dogs undergoing myelography
Author(s) -
Drynan Eleanor A.,
Gray Peter,
Raisis Anthea L.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of veterinary emergency and critical care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.886
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1476-4431
pISSN - 1479-3261
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-4431.2012.00721.x
Subject(s) - acepromazine , medicine , anesthesia , methadone , propofol , isoflurane , heart rate , blood pressure
Objective To investigate the frequency of seizures associated with acepromazine administration when used as a premedicant with methadone for dogs undergoing myelography. Design Retrospective clinical case study. Setting University veterinary teaching hospital. Animals Sixty‐six dogs (mixed and pure breeds), aged between 4 months and 15 years, weighing between 3.5–61 kg. All animals were classified as ASA score I or II. Interventions Forty‐three animals were premedicated with methadone (0.1–0.5 mg/kg) and acepromazine (0.01–0.05 mg/kg) intramuscularly. Twenty‐three animals were premedicated with methadone alone (0.1–0.5 mg/kg) intramuscularly. Anesthesia was induced with propofol intravenously and maintained with isoflurane delivered in 100% oxygen. All animals received a balanced isotonic crystalloid solution intravenously at a rate of 10 mL/kg/h. Blood pressure, end‐tidal CO 2 , oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and heart rate were monitored throughout anesthesia. Animals requiring surgery immediately following myelography were excluded from the study. Measurements and Main Results The frequency of seizures was 14% (CI: 3.6–24.3%) and 13.0% (CI: 0.7–27%) in dogs that received methadone/acepromazine and methadone alone, respectively. There was no significant difference in the frequency of seizures between dogs receiving methadone/acepromazine or methadone alone ( P = 1). Analysis of the association of site of injection of the contrast and the frequency of seizures in dogs receiving methadone/acepromazine showed no significant difference in the frequency of seizures following cervical injection (25%; CI: 0.5–24.5%) or lumbar injection (9.7%; CI: –0.7–20.1%). Conclusions The administration of acepromazine combined with methadone as a premedicant used with propofol and isoflurane anesthesia did not significantly increase the frequency of seizures following myelography compared to dogs who received methadone alone.