Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Seizures in two dogs after medetomidine sedation and skin biopsy
By Rainger, Je et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2009·University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Seizures during medetomindine sedation and local anaesthesia in two dogs undergoing skin biopsy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two dogs undergoing skin biopsies had seizures during sedation with a medication called medetomidine and a local anesthetic called lignocaine. One dog experienced a seizure during the procedure and another two hours later after the sedation was reversed. Both dogs had no previous history of seizures and returned to normal neurologically after the procedures, with follow-ups showing no lasting issues. The situation suggests that using large doses of lignocaine while sedated with medetomidine may increase the risk of seizures.
People also search for: dog seizure after anesthesia · skin biopsy sedation risks · medetomidine side effects in dogs
Abstract
Each of two dogs presented for multiple skin biopsies were sedated with intravenous medetomidine and lignocaine was injected subcutaneously to provide local anaesthesia for skin biopsy. One dog had a seizure during skin biopsy and again immediately following reversal of medetomidine with atipamezole. The other dog developed seizures 2 h following skin biopsy at which time the medetomidine was reversed with atipamezole. Both dogs were neurologically normal with no history of seizures prior to the procedure and remained neurologically normal for 14 weeks and 9 months, respectively, following the procedure. A drug interaction between the alpha(2)-adrenergic agonist medetomidine and lignocaine is suspected and highlights the potential for seizures following the subcutaneous administration of relatively large doses of lignocaine under medetomidine sedation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19382926/