title: Safety and efficacy of various combinations of injectable anesthetics in BALB/c mice.
abstract: Four combinations of drugs--ketamine-xylazine, ketamine-xylazine-acepromazine (KXA), ketamine-xylazine-buprenorphine, and ketamine-xylazine-carprofen--were compared for their ability to produce anesthesia in BALB/c mice. Induction time, anesthetic duration, blood pressure, pulse rate, and time to recovery were recorded. The anesthesia induced by each anesthetic combination was assessed by using reflex responses to standardized stimuli. The KXA combination produced stable physiologic parameters and was associated with the longest duration of anesthesia (40 +/- 8 min); immobility was produced in all other groups (38 +/- 5 min), but a surgical plane of anesthesia could not be confirmed. All anesthetic protocols produced significant hypotension. No deaths occurred. We recommend KXA as a safe and reliable anesthetic for mice requiring a surgical plane of anesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Animal Resources, Roswell Park Cancer institute, Buffalo, NY, USA. sandra.buitrago@roswellpark.org
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buitrago
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tetens-Woodring
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belicha-Villanueva
authors.forename: Gregory E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Wilding
mesh_terms: D000075:Acepromazine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D000758:Anesthesia; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002047:Buprenorphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D002227:Carbazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007649:Ketamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D007756:Laboratory Animal Science / Q000592:standards; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D014991:Xylazine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000777:Anesthetics; D002227:Carbazoles; D014991:Xylazine; D002047:Buprenorphine; D000075:Acepromazine; D007649:Ketamine; C007005:carprofen