Effects of Totally Intravenous Thiopental Anesthesia on Cardiopulmonary and Thermoregulatory System in Donkeys

Abstract

Emami, M.R., Seifi, H. and Tavakoli, Z. 2006. Effects of totally intravenous thiopental anesthesia on cardiopulmonary and thermoregulatory system in donkeys. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 29: 13–16.

This study was conducted on five donkeys (Equus asinus) to investigate the effects of thiopental Total Intra-Venous Anesthesia (TTVA) approach on heart, respiration, blood gas and body temperature of the donkey. Atropine-acepromazine-xylazine premedicated donkeys were anesthetized with 5% solution of thiopental 7 mg/kg and maintained for 100 min with a thiopental solution (8 mg/kg BWin 500 ml normal saline). Heart and respiratory rates increased and temperature decreased at 10 min post anesthesia. P_aCO₂ and bicarbonate increased resulting in decreased pH after anesthesia. There were no marked ECG changes. Animals were in sternal recumbency for 66±6.52 min after interruption of anesthetic infusion. Thus thiopental TTVA appeared to produce good surgical anesthesia of long duration in donkeys but the recovery period was too long.

Keywords:

• Total intravenous anesthesia
• thiopental
• donkey