Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Alfaxalone sedation works well for dog allergy skin tests
By Meason, Courtney et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2023·BluePearl Veterinary Specialists, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Alfaxalone provides reliable sedation for intradermal allergen testing in dogs and does not significantly affect results when compared to dexmedetomidine.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs undergoing allergy testing were sedated with either alfaxalone or dexmedetomidine to see which worked better without affecting the test results. Alfaxalone provided a higher level of sedation without causing significant heart issues, and it did not change how the dogs reacted to allergens during the tests. This means that alfaxalone could be a safer option for sedating dogs during allergy testing, especially for those with heart concerns.
People also search for: dog allergy testing sedation · alfaxalone for dogs · dexmedetomidine side effects in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dexmedetomidine (Dexmedetomidine hydrochloride-Dexdomitor; Zoetis) is the preferred sedative used for canine intradermal allergen testing (IDT) in the United States. Alfaxalone (Alfaxan Multidose; Jurox Animal Health) is a neuroactive steroid, and its effect on sedation and allergen reactivity scores is unknown. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: We hypothesised that alfaxalone would produce an adequate level of sedation with fewer cardiovascular adverse effects and would not affect allergen reactivity scores or histamine wheal size compared to dexmedetomidine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty client-owned dogs were included in two groups: 10 atopic and 10 nonatopic. In a randomised, controlled, blinded, cross-over design all dogs underwent two modified IDT, 1-4 weeks apart, using intravenous dexmedetomidine (2.87-5.22 μg/kg) or alfaxalone (1.8-2.4 mg/kg). Anaesthetic parameters and sedation level were recorded over 25 min using a validated canine sedation scale described by Grint et al. (Small Anim Pract, 2009, 50, 62). Simultaneously, both objective and subjective reactivity scores were measured in technical triplicates at 10, 15 and 20 min. The modified IDT included eight allergens, histamine-positive and saline-negative controls. RESULTS: Alfaxalone produced a significantly higher sedation score across all time points (p < 0.05). All objective scores were significantly correlated to the corresponding subjective scores (Spearman R = 0.859, p < 0.0001). Sedative used did not significantly affect subjective allergen scores for nine atopic dogs (p > 0.05, 15 min). Sedative used did not affect the diameter of objective scores for individual allergens and histamine wheals (p > 0.05, 15 min). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Intravascular alfaxalone is an alternative sedative for IDT in dogs. Alfaxalone may be preferred to dexmedetomidine in some clinical scenarios as a result of having fewer cardiovascular adverse effects.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37286524/