Comparison of Medetomidine-Diazepam-Ketamine and Medetomidine-Ketamine Anaesthesia in Dogs

This study was carried out to compare the anaesthetic and cardiopulmonary effects of medetomidine-diazepam-ketamine (MDK) with medetomidine-ketamine (DK) induced anaesthesia in dogs.Ten (10) apparently healthy local dogs comprising of 5 females and 5 males with Mean ± SD body weight of 20.40±2.93kg randomly allocated into two groups A (n=5), B (n=5) were used for this study. Dogs in group A were premedicated with an intravenous injection of 0.005mg/kg medetomidine, followed by an intravenous injection of 0.25mg/kg diazepam and 4mg/kg ketamine combination 3-5 minutes later. Meanwhile group B were given an intravenous injection of medetomidine (0.005 mg/kg) and ketamine (5mg/kg) combination. Anaesthetic indices and degree of analgesia(assessed by positive response of a dog to haemostatic pressure and defined as gross purposeful movement of head and/limb withdrawal which indicates perception of pain) were recorded while cardiopulmonary parameters were measured before anaesthesia and at five (5) minutes interval throughout anaesthesia. There was 100% negative pain perception in dogs in the group administered with MDK while 70% negative pain perception was recorded in dogs in the group administered with MK. The MDK group showed longest duration of anaesthesia (32.00 ± 1.1 minutes) and shortest time to standing (2.40 ± 1.5 minutes) compared with the MKgroup (6.80 ± 2.7 minutes). Although, both groups did not show significant decrease (P>0.05) in heart and respiratory rates. The MK group showed more cardiopulmonary effects. It was concluded that protocol of MDK provided better and longer anaesthesia/analgesia compared with MKin dogs, with minimal effects on vital body parameters, for extended surgical interventions.