Comparison of sevoflurane and isoflurane in dogs anaesthetised for clinical surgical or diagnostic procedures

• Published in: Journal of small animal practice Vol. 49; no. 8; pp. 392 - 397
• Main Authors: Bennett, R.C, Fancy, S.P.J, Walsh, C.M, Brown, A.J, Taylor, P.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-08-2008; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: adverse effects; anesthesia; Anesthesia Recovery Period; Anesthetics, Inhalation; Animals; blood pressure; Blood Pressure - drug effects; body temperature; breathing; Carbon Dioxide - blood; cardiovascular system; depth of anesthesia; dogs; Dogs - physiology; drug evaluation; England; general anesthetics; heart rate; Heart Rate - drug effects; hemoglobin; Isoflurane; Methyl Ethers; Monitoring, Physiologic - veterinary; pharmacokinetics; Preanesthetic Medication - veterinary; Respiration - drug effects; respiratory gases; risk assessment; sevoflurane; surgery; Treatment Outcome; veterinary drugs; England
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2008.00586.x
• EISSN: 1748-5827
• ISSN: 0022-4510

To assess attributes of sevoflurane for routine clinical anaesthesia in dogs by comparison with the established volatile anaesthetic isoflurane. One hundred and eight dogs requiring anaesthesia for elective surgery or diagnostic procedures were studied. The majority was premedicated with 0·03 mg/kg of acepromazine and 0·01 mg/kg of buprenorphine or 0·3 mg/kg of methadone before induction of anaesthesia with 2 to 4 mg/kg of propofol and 0·5 mg/kg of diazepam. They were randomly assigned to receive either sevoflurane (group S, n=50) or isoflurane (group I, n=58) in oxygen and nitrous oxide for maintenance of anaesthesia. Heart rate, respiratory rate, indirect arterial blood pressure, haemoglobin saturation, vaporiser settings, end-tidal carbon dioxide and anaesthetic concentration and oesophageal temperature were measured. Recovery was timed. Data were analysed using analysis of variance and non-parametric tests. Heart rate (85 to 140/minute), respiratory rate (six to 27/minute) and systolic arterial blood pressure (80 to 150 mmHg) were similar in the two groups. End-tidal carbon dioxide between 30 and 60 minutes (group S 6·4 to 6·6 and group I 5·8 to 5·9 per cent) and vaporiser settings throughout (group S 2·1 to 2·9 and group I 1·5 to 1·5 per cent) were higher in group S. There was no difference in time to head lift (18±16 minutes), sternal recumbency (28±22 minutes) or standing (48±32 minutes). No adverse events occurred. Sevoflurane appeared to be a suitable volatile anaesthetic for maintenance of routine clinical anaesthesia in dogs.