Sedative, analgesic, and behavioral effects of nalbuphine-xylazine and nalbuphine-midazolam combinations in dogs

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the sedative, analgesic, and behavioral effects of nalbuphine-xylazine (NX) and nalbuphine-midazolam (NM) combinations for neuroleptanalgesia in dogs. A prospective randomized crossover study was done on six adult mongrel dogs. Dogs were randomly allocated into NX and NM groups with a washout period 2 weeks. Nalbuphine was given at dose of 0.5 mg/kg IV approximately 20 minutes before administration of the tranquilizer. Dogs were randomly allocated into one of the two groups: NX group received xylazine at a dose of 1 mg/kg IV; and NM group received midazolam at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg IV. Sedative, analgesic, and behavioral evaluations were done before administration of nalbuphine (baseline), before administration of tranquilizer (0 time), and each 10 minutes till 60 minutes, vital parameters were also recorded. Most of the sedation scores showed significant increase in NX 10 and 20 minutes in NM group. Significant change in sedation was still recorded in both groups till 60 minutes. The degree of analgesia was at its peak 10-30 minutes in NX group and started to decrease at 40 and 50 minutes. In NM group, the peak analgesic scoring was at 20 minutes and started to decline until 60 minutes. Most of the behavioral parameters were significantly decreased at 10 minutes in NX group and 20 minutes following injection in NM group. The combination of NX provided greater sedation and analgesia compared with NM combination.