Effect of medetomidine infusion on the anaesthetic requirements of desflurane in dogs

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the effect of constant rate infusion of medetomidine on the anaesthetic requirements of desflurane in dogs. For this, six healthy dogs were studied. Measurements for baseline were taken in the awake, unsedated dogs, then each dog received intravenously (i.v.) three anaesthetic protocols: M (no medetomidine infusion), M0.5 (infusion of medetomidine at 0.5 μg/kg/h, i.v.) or M1 (infusion of medetomidine at 1 μg/kg/h, i.v.). All dogs were sedated with medetomidine (2 μg/kg, i.v.) and measurements repeated in 10 min. Induction of anaesthesia was delivered with propofol (3 mg/kg, i.v.) and maintained with desflurane for 90 min to achieve a defined surgical plane of anaesthesia in all cases. After tracheal intubation infusion of medetomidine was initiated and maintained until the end of anaesthesia. Cardiovascular, respiratory, arterial pH (pHa) and arterial blood gas tensions (PaO2, PaCO2) variables were measured during the procedure. End tidal desflurane concentration (EtDES) was recorded throughout anaesthesia. Time to extubation, time to sternal recumbency and time to standing were also noted. Heart rate and respiratory rate were significantly decreased during sedation in all protocols compared to baseline values. Mean heart rate, mean arterial pressure, systolic arterial pressure, diastolic arterial pressure, respiratory rate, tidal volume, arterial oxygen saturation, end-tidal CO2, pHa, PaO2, and PaCO2 during anaesthesia were similar for all protocols. EtDES for M (8.6 ± 0.8%) was statistically higher than for M0.5 (7.6 ± 0.5%) and M1 (7.3 ± 0.7%) protocols. Infusion of medetomidine reduces desflurane concentration required to maintain anaesthesia in dogs.