Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Best atipamezole dose and timing for cat recovery after ketamine
By Bruniges, Natalie & Yates, David·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2020·Small Animal Teaching Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of atipamezole dosage and timing of administration on recovery time and quality in cats following injectable anaesthesia incorporating ketamine.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 128 healthy male cats, aged between 2 months and 9 years, were given a combination of medications for anesthesia during castration. They received either a lower or higher dose of atipamezole, a drug that helps them wake up from anesthesia, either 20 or 40 minutes after the anesthesia was given. The results showed that cats given the higher dose of atipamezole after 20 minutes woke up faster than those given the lower dose, but overall recovery quality was similar regardless of the dose or timing. Minimal side effects were noted, and the study suggests that a higher dose of atipamezole can be more effective in speeding up recovery.
People also search for: cat anesthesia recovery time · atipamezole dosage for cats · cat castration anesthesia effects
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to establish the optimum dosage and timing of administration of atipamezole in cats undergoing general anaesthesia incorporating ketamine to provide the shortest recovery possible without unacceptably compromising recovery quality. METHODS: In total, 128 healthy male cats (age range 2-108 months, weight range 0.56-5.22 kg) admitted for castration were randomly allocated to groups of 32. Anaesthesia was induced with 60 mg/mketamine, 180 µg/mbuprenorphine, 3 mg/mmidazolam and 600 µg/mmedetomidine intramuscularly (IM). Cats received 600 µg/m(groups 1ATI20 and 1ATI40) or 1.5 mg/m(groups 2.5ATI20 and 2.5ATI40) atipamezole IM either 20 (groups 1ATI20 and 2.5ATI20) or 40 mins (groups 1ATI40 and 2.5ATI40) after the 'quad'. Preparation time, surgical time, auricular temperature, times to sternal recumbency and first standing, and recovery quality score were recorded. Data were analysed using ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U-tests and χtests. Statistical significance was deemed to be ⩽0.05. RESULTS: Groups did not differ significantly in preparation or surgical time. Auricular temperature decreased significantly over time ( <0.01) but did not differ between atipamezole treatment groups. Time to sternal recumbency in group 2.5ATI20 (52.9 ± 22.3 mins) was faster than group 1ATI20 (65.7 ± 24.7 mins) ( ⩽0.05), but there were no significant differences between other groups. Time to first standing and recovery quality scores did not differ significantly between groups. Minimal adverse effects were seen. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Atipamezole administration after 20 mins did not reduce recovery time but neither was recovery quality adversely affected compared with when it was administered after 40 mins, following datasheet recommendations with concurrent ketamine administration. The results of this study also suggest that an atipamezole:medetomidine dose ratio of 2.5:1 is more effective than 1:1 in reducing recovery time, regardless of timing of administration, although this only reached statistical significance for time to sternal recumbency when atipamezole was administered after 20 mins.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31418629/