Document Type : Original Article
Author
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey.
Abstract
There has not been any report about the use of the Alfaxan-CD(R) in common buzzard. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Alfaxan-CD(R) as an intravenous anesthetic agent for inducing anesthesia in the common buzzard and describe some of its clinical pharmacological effects. Eight healthy adult common buzzards (Buteo buteo) of unknown sex, weighing 750–1000 grams, kept in captivity at the Dilek Peninsula National Park located in Aydin, Turkey, and appropriately fed (i.e.: rats, mice, rabbits, and day-old chicks) were included in this study. Birds were given alfaxalone (10 mg/kg, by 2-4 mg/kg boluses) intravenously. Variables measured before, and 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 90 minutes after induction were the followings: heart rate (HR, beats/min), respiratory rate (RR, breaths/min), cloacal temperature (CT), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), ionized calcium (iCa++), arterial pH (pHa), arterial oxygen tension (PaO2), arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2), bicarbonate concentration (HCO3) and base excess (BE). All buzzards survived the alfaxalone anesthesia. In this study, alfaxalone provided excellent muscle relaxation and a moderate level of anesthesia. Buzzards given alfaxalone developed primary respiratory acidosis. Base excess and HCO3 were within the reference range and did not significantly change, indicating a primary respiratory acidosis without metabolic component. All physiologic parameters, except cloacal temperature, returned to approximate baseline values at recovery after anesthesia with alfaxalone. This study indicated that alfaxalone produced good to excellent anesthesia in buzzards, characterized by rapid induction of anesthesia, excellent muscle relaxation, unresponsiveness to noxious stimuli, and smooth, uneventful recovery from anesthesia. Hypoventilation and apnea were uncommon at clinically relevant doses but became the most important adverse effects when larger doses were administered rapidly IV.
Keywords
Main Subjects
- Redig PT. Recommendation for anesthesia in raptors with comments on trumpeter swans. Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 1998; 7(1): 22-29.
- Ludders, JW, Matthews N. Anesthesia and immobilization of specific species: Birds. In: Thurmon, JC, Tranquilli, WJ, Benson G. Eds, Veterinary Anesthesia, 3rd edn. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, USA, 1996; 645–669.
- Straub J, Neil AF, Thielebein J, Pees M, Krautwald-Junghanns ME. The effects of isoflurane anesthesia on some Doppler-derived cardiac parameters in the common buzzard (Buteo buteo). Veterinary Journal, 2003; 166(3): 273-276.
- Dodman NH. Complications of Saffan anesthesia in cats. Veterinary Record, 1980; 107(21): 481–483.
- Child KJ, Currie JP, Davis B, Dodds MG, Pearce DR, Twissell DJ. The pharmacological properties in animals of CT1341 – a new steroid anaesthetic agent. British Journal of Anesthesia, 1971; 43(1): 2–13.
- Kilic N, Pasa S. Cardiopulmonary effects of propofol compared with those of a medetomidine-ketamine combination in the common buzzards (Buteo Buteo). Revue Medicine Veterinaire, 2009; 160(3): 154-159.
- Campbell D, Forrester AC, Miller DC, Hutton I, Kennedy JA, Lawrie TD, Lorimer AR, McCall D. A preliminary clinical study of CT1341 – a steroid anaesthetic agent. British Journal of Anesthesia, 1971; 43(1): 14–24.
- Sear JW. Steroid anesthetics: Old compounds, new drugs. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 1996; 8(Suppl 3): 91–98.
- Lambert JJ, Belelli D, Peden DR, Vardy AW, Peters JA. Neurosteroid modulation of GABAA receptors. Progress in Neurobiology, 2003; 71(1): 67–80.
- Kilic N. A comparison between medetomidine-ketamine and xylazine-ketamine anesthesia in rabbits. Turkish Journal of Veterinary Animal Sciences, 2004; 28(5): 921-926.
- King AS, Payne DC. Normal breathing and the effects of the posture in Gallus domesticus. The Journal of Physiologie, 1964; 174(11): 340-347.
- Ferre PJ, Pasloske K, Whittem T, Ranasinghe MG, Li Q, Lefebvre HP. Plasma pharmacokinetics of alfaxalone in dogs after an intravenous bolus of Alfaxan-CD RTU. Veterinay Anesthesia and Analgesia, 2006; 33(4): 229–236.
- Schubart MA. The short-term anesthesia with alphaxolone/alphadolone in crossbreeds and gyrandperegrine falcon -Quality of anesthesia, influence on respiratory and metabolic parameters-. Dissertations, Leipzig, Germany, 2005.
- Zaki S, Ticehurst KE, Miyaki Y. Clinical evaluation of Alfaxan-CD (R) as an intravenous anaesthetic in young cats. Australian Veterinary Journal, 2009; 87(3): 82-87.
- Kollias GV, Mcleish I. Effects of ketamine hydrochloride in red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis). II-Biocemical and haematologic. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Comperative Pharmacology, 1978; 60(2): 211-213.
- Desmarcheiler M, Rondenay Y, Fitzgerald G, Lair S. Monitoring of the ventilatory status of anesthetized birds of prey by using end-tidal carbon dioxide measured with a microstream capnometer. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 2007; 38(1): 1-6.
- Brainard B, Campbell V, Drobatz JK, Perkowski SZ. The effects of surgery and anesthesia on blood magnesium and calcium concentrations in canine and feline patients. Veterinay Anesthesia and Analgesia, 2007, 34(2): 89-98
- Grubb TL, Benson GJ, Foreman JH, Constable PD, Thurmon JC, Olson WO, Tranquilli WJ, Davis LE. Hemodynamic effects of ionized calcium in horses anesthetized with halothane or isoflurane. American Journal of Veterinary Research, 1999; 60(11): 1430–1435.
- Hysing ES, Chelly JE, Jacobson L, Doursout MF, Merin RG.Cardiovascular effects of acute changes in extracellular ionized calcium concentration induced by citrate and CaCl2 infusions in chronically instrumented dogs, conscious and during enflurane, halothane, and isoflurane anesthesia. Anesthesiology, 1990; 72(1): 100–104.