title: Survey of utilization of medetomidine and atipamezole in private veterinary practice in Quebec in 2002.
abstract: This survey evaluates early perceptions about the use of medetomidine and atipamezole among veterinary practitioners in Quebec in 2002. Response rate was 23.5%; 71.1% of the practitioners did not use these products because of lack of information (69.3%), unavailability of the drugs in the practice (23.3%), or other reasons (7.3%), including concerns about the safety of alpha-2 agonists. Most veterinarians who used these products (70.4%) used them only rarely. Sedation by medetomidine was qualified as good (44.2%) or excellent (36%), and analgesia as good (46.5%) or average (32.7%). Waking up after atipamezole was qualified as good (47.5%) or excellent (40.9%). These perceptions indicate an opportunity for wider use of the products in veterinary practice. With more education and experience, practitioners could find medetomidine hydrochloride alone or in combination with an opioid useful for sedation, analgesia, and premedication for healthy animals. Reversal with atipamezole hydrochloride is considered effective, when residual sedation is undesirable.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Anesthesiology, Departments of Clinical Sciences, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montreal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec. johanna.kaartinen@umontreal.ca
authors.forename: M Johanna
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kaartinen
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cuvelliez
authors.forename: Line
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brouillard
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rondenay
authors.forename: Jean Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kona-Boun
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Troncy
mesh_terms: D000316:Adrenergic alpha-Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020926:Medetomidine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011792:Quebec; D019155:Veterinary Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*