Partial intravenous anaesthesia in the horse: a review of intravenous agents used to supplement equine inhalation anaesthesia. Part 1: lidocaine and ketamine.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature with regard to the use of different intravenous agents as supplements to inhalational anaesthesia in horses. These drugs include lidocaine, ketamine, opioids and α2 -agonists. The Part 1 of this review will focus in the use of lidocaine and ketamine. DATABASES USED: Pubmed & Web of Science. Search terms: horse, inhalant anaesthesia, balanced anaesthesia, partial intravenous anaesthesia, lidocaine, ketamine. CONCLUSIONS: Different drugs and their combinations can be administered systemically in anaesthetized horses, with the aim of reducing the amount of the volatile agent whilst improving the recovery qualities and providing a multimodal analgesic approach. However, full studies as to whether these techniques improve cardiopulmonary status are not always available and potential disadvantages should also be considered.