Anaesthetic and cardiopulmonary parameters of dogs administered propofol-acepromazine-butorphanol or propofol-acepromazine-buprenorphine anaesthesia

The efficacy and safety of premedication with acepromazine-butorphanol or acepromazine-buprenorphine combination were compared in dogs anaesthetized with propofol using total intravenous anaesthesia. Six mature Nigerian indigenous dogs were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 premedication groups: Group 1 (acepromazine, 0.03 mg/kg, IM; butorphanol, 0.4 mg/kg, IM), or 2 (acepromazine, 0.03 mg/kg, IM; buprenorphine, 0.02 mg/kg, IM); propofol was administered using bolus injection method of total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA); cardiopulmonary parameters of anaesthetized dogs were recorded at 20 min intervals for 2 h. The results of this study showed that significant alterations (p>0.05) were not observed in the anaesthetic indices of dogs on the two protocols. However, significant increase (p<0.05) was observed in the heart rate of dogs anaesthetized with ACE-BUP-PRO compared with those anaesthetized with ACE-BUT-PRO at all time intervals of 20 to 120 min after the induction of anaesthesia. The mean arterial blood pressure decreased significantly (p<0.05) in dogs anaesthetized with ACE-BUP-PRO at 40 and 120 min post anaesthetic induction, compared with dogs anaesthetized with ACE-BUT-PRO. Likewise, the respiratory rate of dogs anaesthetized with ACE-BUP-PRO decreased significantly (p<0.05) at 60, 100 and 120 min post anaesthetic induction. Haemoglobin-oxygen saturation and rectal temperature were not significantly at variance in dogs on the two anaesthetic protocols. In conclusion, either butorphanol or buprenorphine can be used in combination with acepromazine for premedication of dogs for routine surgical and diagnostic procedures. However, caution is advised with use of buprenorphine in dogs with pre-existing cardiac disease or hypertension.