Use of midazolam as a co-inducing anesthetic strategy in healthy canine patients, in the Veterinary Clinic Vetmédica S. A. S

Abstract

Veterinary anesthetic practice has currently evolved to provide the veterinarian with tools that lead to a safer approach to the anesthetic event in small animals, due to which it is required for the development of different areas such as intensive care, imaging and surgery. The primary objectives of the veterinarian on the anesthetized patient is to avoid nociception and guarantee amnesia, ensuring animal welfare, protecting its autonomic functions and minimizing the possible side effects associated with the administration of 

different anesthetics and analgesics in both healthy and with comorbidities. For this reason, the use of midazolam was proposed as an anesthetic co-induction strategy, seeking to reduce the initial doses of propofol, which could cause hypotension, bradycardia, and hypercapnia during induction of the anesthetic plane. This was done in 20 healthy male and female canine patients between 6 and 8 months of age, scheduled for Ovariohysterectomy (OVH) and Orchiectomy (ORQ) surgery, to whom acepromazine and morphine were administered intramuscularly (IM) as anesthetic premedication and after 30 minutes midazolam 0.25 mg/kg was administered intravenously (IV) slowly. After 15 seconds, the injectable general anesthetic (propofol) was slowly administered at a dose of 4 mg/kg, identifying the dose of injectable anesthetic used in each patient. As a general average, a reduction of 20.2% of the total dose of propofol was obtained.