Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Excitatory movements in a dog following propofol anesthesia.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association
- Year:
- 1996
- Authors:
- Smedile, L E et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine · Canada
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A two-year-old neutered male Labrador retriever was put under anesthesia with propofol for a procedure to remove something stuck in his airway. He had a history of epilepsy, and after waking up from the anesthesia, he started showing unusual movements like stiffening of his front legs, shaking, and twitching. A medication called pentobarbital was given to help calm him down, but the strange movements continued for about 20 hours. Fortunately, he eventually recovered fully, but he still has epilepsy and experiences a seizure about every three to four months.
Abstract
A two-year-old, neutered male Labrador retriever was anesthetized with intravenous propofol for bronchoscopy to remove a bronchial foreign body. The dog previously had been diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. During anesthetic recovery, the dog exhibited excitatory movements characterized by forelimb extensor rigidity, opisthotonos, generalized tremors, paddling, horizontal nystagmus, and facial twitching. Intravenous administration of pentobarbital temporarily stopped the motor activity. The excitatory movements persisted for 20 hours. The dog went on to recover completely, although he remained an epileptic, having one brief, generalized grand mal seizure every three-to-four months.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8784729/