Urethane-acepromazine: a novel method of administering parenteral anesthesia in the rabbit.
Stable long-term anesthesia in the rabbit (greater than 8 hr) has been achieved by the administration of urethane and acepromazine. Twenty-five healthy male New Zealand white rabbits weighing 2 to 4 kg were used for this study. Two groups of animals were studied. The first group of 11 rabbits received urethane (1.0 g/kg) and acepromazine (1 mg/0.46 kg). This resulted in stable light plane anesthesia for 13.5 +/- 4.5 hr (mean + S.D.). The second group of 14 rabbits received urethane (1.3 g/kg) and acepromazine (1 mg/0.46 kg) which resulted in deep plane anesthesia for 23.0 +/- 4 hr. Heart rate and respiratory rate remained stable throughout the entire period and all animals were alert and without any observable side effects by 48 +/- 3 hr. This study indicates that the combination of urethane-acepromazine is a safe and reproducible parenteral anesthetic that may be used in studies of long duration in rabbits.
Moore
L R
LR
Controlled Drug Delivery Research Center, College of Pharmacy, Rutgers-State University of New Jersey, Piscataway.
Chang
S F
SF
Greenstein
E T
ET
D000075:Acepromazine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D003243:Consciousness / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D012119:Respiration / Q000187:drug effects; D014520:Urethane / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D014520:Urethane; D000075:Acepromazine