Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Risk of low blood pressure or slow heart rate in dogs
By Martin-Flores, Manuel et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2019·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Investigation of associations between preoperative acepromazine or dexmedetomidine administration and development of arterial hypotension or bradycardia in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs undergoing spay surgery (ovariohysterectomy) were given either acepromazine or dexmedetomidine as a pre-anesthetic medication. The study found that dogs given acepromazine were more likely to experience low blood pressure (hypotension) compared to those given dexmedetomidine, and this condition lasted longer in the acepromazine group. Additionally, dogs that received dexmedetomidine had a higher chance of developing a slow heart rate (bradycardia). The findings suggest that the choice of pre-anesthetic medication can impact the risk of these complications during surgery, and veterinarians may consider this when planning procedures.
People also search for: dog spay surgery risks · acepromazine side effects in dogs · dexmedetomidine vs acepromazine for dogs
Abstract
To evaluate potential associations between preanesthetic administration of acepromazine or dexmedetomidine and development of arterial hypotension or bradycardia in isoflurane-anesthetized dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy.341 dogs.Medical records were searched to identify dogs that underwent ovariohysterectomy between January 2009 and December 2010 and received hydromorphone with acepromazine or dexmedetomidine as preanesthetic agents. Demographic data, sedative and anesthetic drugs, duration of anesthesia, average vaporizer setting, positive pressure ventilation, occurrence of hypotension (mean arterial pressure < 60 mm Hg) or bradycardia (> 50% reduction in heart rate, compared with the preanesthetic value), time to first occurrence and duration of hypotension, and treatment with dopamine or anticholinergic agents were recorded. Data were compared between dogs that received acepromazine and dexmedetomidine. Logistic regression was used to investigate associations between the treatments of interest (and other putative risk factors) and development of hypotension or bradycardia.For dogs that received acepromazine, the odds of developing hypotension were 2.61 times those for dogs that received dexmedetomidine. Hypotension occurred earlier and lasted longer in dogs that received acepromazine, and this group was treated with dopamine more frequently than the group that received dexmedetomidine. Lower body weight was associated with increased odds of hypotension. Odds of developing bradycardia were greater for dogs sedated with dexmedetomidine (vs acepromazine) and for dogs that underwent anesthetic induction with propofol or a ketamine-benzodiazepine combination (vs thiopental).Anesthetic complications differed between isoflurane-anesthetized dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy after premedication with acepromazine or dexmedetomidine in this study; future prospective investigations are warranted to investigate these effects in other, less homogenous populations of dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31260409/