TY - JOUR AU - Paula, Valéria Veras AU - Otsuki, Denise Aya AU - Auler, José Otávio Costa AU - Nunes, Talyta Lins AU - Ambrósio, Aline Magalhães AU - Fantoni, Denise Tabacchi PY - 2013 DA - 2013/07/17 TI - The effect of premedication with ketamine, alone or with diazepam, on anaesthesia with sevoflurane in parrots (Amazona aestiva) JO - BMC Veterinary Research SP - 142 VL - 9 IS - 1 AB - Premedication is rarely used in avian species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of premedication on the quality of sevoflurane induction and anaesthesia in parrots. We hypothesised that premedication would facilitate handling and decrease the minimum anaesthetic dose (MAD). Thirty-six adult parrots were randomly distributed in three groups: group S (n = 12) was premedicated with NaCl 0.9%; group KS (n = 12) was premedicated with 10 mg.kg-1 ketamine; and group KDS (n = 12) was premedicated with 10 mg.kg-1 ketamine and 0.5 mg.kg-1 diazepam, delivered intramuscularly. After induction using 4.5% sevoflurane introduced through a facemask, the MAD was determined for each animal. The heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), systolic arterial blood pressure (SAP), and cloacal temperature (CT) were recorded before premedication (T0), 15 minutes after premedication (T1), and after MAD determination (T2). Arterial blood gas analyses were performed at T0 and T2. The quality of anaesthesia was evaluated using subjective scales based on animal behaviour and handling during induction, maintenance, and recovery. Statistical analyses were performed using analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis tests followed by Tukey’s or Dunn’s tests. SN - 1746-6148 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-6148-9-142 DO - 10.1186/1746-6148-9-142 ID - Paula2013 ER -