Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Sedation and pain relief in cats using oral or muscle dexmedetomidine
By Porters, Nathalie et al.Ā·Published in Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesiaĀ·2014Ā·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Clinical BiologyĀ·View original on PubMed ā
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research ā every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work ā
Original publication title: Sedative and antinociceptive effects of dexmedetomidine and buprenorphine after oral transmucosal or intramuscular administration in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Six healthy female cats were given a combination of dexmedetomidine and buprenorphine either through their cheeks (oral transmucosal) or by injection (intramuscular) to see how well it sedated them and relieved pain. Both methods worked similarly, providing comparable sedation and pain relief without significant differences in effectiveness. Some cats experienced side effects like salivation and vomiting, but overall, both methods were effective. This study suggests that giving this medication through the mouth could be a good alternative to injections for sedating and managing pain in cats.
People also search for: cat sedation options Ā· dexmedetomidine buprenorphine for cats Ā· cat vomiting after medication
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare sedation and antinociception after oral transmucosal (OTM) and intramuscular (IM) administration of a dexmedetomidine-buprenorphine combination in healthy adult cats. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized, 'blinded' crossover study, with 1 month washout between treatments. ANIMALS: Six healthy neutered female cats, weighing 5.3-7.5 kg. METHODS: A combination of dexmedetomidine (40 μg kg(-1) ) and buprenorphine (20 μg kg(-1) ) was administered by either the OTM (buccal cavity) or IM (quadriceps muscle) route. Sedation was measured using a numerical rating scale, at baseline and at various time points until 6 hours after treatment. At the same time points, analgesia was scored using a dynamic and interactive visual analogue scale, based on the response to an ear pinch, and by the cat's response to a mechanical stimulus exerted by a pressure rate onset device. Physiological and adverse effects were recorded, and oral pH measured. Signed rank tests were performed, with significance set at p < 0.05. Data are presented as median and range. RESULTS: There were no differences in sedation or antinociception scores between OTM and IM dosing at any of the time points. Nociceptive thresholds increased after both treatments but without significant difference between groups. Buccal pH remained between 8 and 8.5. Salivation was noted after OTM administration (n = 2) and vomiting after both OTM (n = 4), and IM (n = 3) dosing. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In healthy adult cats, OTM administration of dexmedetomidine and buprenorphine resulted in comparable levels of sedation and antinociception to IM dosing. The OTM administration may offer an alternative route to administer this sedative-analgesic combination in cats.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23910721/