Effects of Medetomidine-Thiopentone Anaesthesia on Anaesthetic Indices and Vital Parameters in Donkeys (Equus asinus) in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of medetomidine and thiopentone intravenous (IV) anaesthesia on the anaesthetic indices and Vital parameters of healthy donkeys with mean body weights of 159 ± 16.63 Kg, and age 3.45 ± 0.50 years. Medetomidine was administered at a recommended dose of 5 µg / Kg while 10 % thiopentone was  administered at 7 mg/Kg body. Anaesthetic indices and vital parameters were monitored and recorded. Temperature, heart rate and respiratory rates were measured before and during anaesthesia. The (mean ± SD) onset of anaesthesia was 21.60 ± 9.48 sec; duration of anaesthesia (mean ± SD) was 42.20 ± 5.12 min; time to standing (mean ± SD) was 27.20 ± 8.79 min and recovery score, for 4 donkeys was good and for 1 donkey was satisfactory. The temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate did not significantly differed (p˃0.05) from baseline data. The recovery from anaesthesia in all donkeys was uneventful. The quality of surgical anaesthesia produced coupled with minimal cardiopulmonary effects with uneventful recovery suggests that Medetomidine-Thiopentone total intravenous anaesthesia is a considerable promising injectable technique that can be used to produce extended anaesthesia under field conditions.