Echocardiographic parameters in dogs treated with acepromazine and fentanyl / Parâmetros ecocardiográficos em cães tratados com acepromazina e fentanil

Considering that the use of tranquillizers could optimize the performance of the echocardiogram, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of protocols with acepromazine and fentanyl on the echocardiographic parameters of healthy dogs, besides their effect in systolic blood pressure (SBP), respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR), time spent for examination and sedation scale. Ten adult dogs were submitted to different tranquilizing protocols 20 minutes before the echocardiographic examination, totalling five treatments for each pair, performed at seven-day intervals between evaluations. The treatments were CT (control treatment), IAT (intramuscular acepromazine), OAT (oral acepromazine), FT (fentanyl) and AFT (acepromazine associated with fentanyl). In addition to the echocardiographic evaluation, SBP, degree of reassurance, duration of the exam, HR and RR in the different protocols were evaluated. There was a significant decrease of SBP in OAT. There was a significant reduction in left ventricular diameter during systole and diastole and mitral annular movement in IAT, OAT and AFT, compared with CT. There was a decrease in tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion and increase in mitral E/mitral A ratio in IAT and OAT when compared with CT. All the tranquillizer protocols studied were found to significantly reduce HR, that facilitated the echocardiographic examination.(AU)

Considerando que o uso de tranquilizantes poderia otimizar a realização do ecocardiograma, objetivou-se com este estudo avaliar o efeito da tranquilização com acepromazina e fentanil sobre os parâmetros ecocardiográficos em cães saudáveis, bem como o efeito na pressão arterial sistólica (PAS), na frequência respiratória (FR), na frequência cardíaca (FC), no tempo gasto para a realização do exame e na escala de sedação. Dez cães adultos foram submetidos a diferentes protocolos tranquilizantes, 20 minutos antes da avaliação ecocardiográfica, totalizando cinco tratamentos para cada dupla, realizados com intervalos de sete dias entre as avaliações. Os tratamentos foram: TC (tratamento controle), TAI (acepromazina intramuscular), TAO (acepromazina oral), TF (fentanil) e TAF (acepromazina associada ao fentanil). Além dos parâmetros ecocardiográficos, foram avaliados a PAS, o grau de tranquilização, o tempo de duração do exame e a FC e a FR nos diferentes protocolos. Houve diminuição significativa da PAS no TAO. Observou-se redução significativa do diâmetro do ventrículo esquerdo em sístole e diástole e do movimento anular de mitral nos protocolos TAI, TAO e TAF, comparados com o TC. Observou-se também uma redução da excursão sistólica do plano anular tricúspide e aumento da relação mitral E/mitral A nos protocolos TAI e TAO quando comparados ao TC. Todos os protocolos de tranquilização reduziram significativamente a FC, o que facilitou a realização do exame.(AU)

Beyond-use dating of extemporaneously compounded ketamine, acepromazine, and xylazine: safety, stability, and efficacy over time.

Ketamine-acepromazine-xylazine (KAX) has long been a popular combination of injectable anesthetics for use in laboratory rodents. These drugs are compounded extemporaneously at research facilities because a commercial mixture is not available. This study was designed to determine an appropriate period of use for this mixture by examining its safety, stability, and efficacy at 30-d intervals over an aging period of 270 d. For as long as 270 d after compounding, most of the data collected (chemical stability, sterility, pH, particulate formation, times to loss of righting reflex in injected mice and rats, and histopathology from these animals) supported the finding that the component drugs do not change or degrade. However, mice and rats did show significant differences in anesthetic responses after injection with KAX mixtures of different ages. In light of these findings, we suggest that KAX remains safe, stable, and efficacious for at least 180 d after mixing, and that 180 d constitutes an appropriate period of use for this drug combination when stored in a dark, room-temperature environment.

Identification of acepromazine in hair: an illustration of the difficulties encountered in investigating drug-facilitated crimes.

After a drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), a woman was found in a drowsy state at home. She remembered having drunk an unknown beverage by the accused. Blood samples (collected 8 hours after the DFSA), two glasses, and a teaspoon seized by the police were analyzed. Acepromazine, a phenothiazine tranquilizer used in human and veterinary medicine, was detected in the residue of one of the glasses. In spite of acepromazine absence in the victim's blood, the possible use of acepromazine in the DFSA was reported to the police. Two weeks later, a suspect admitted having orally administered acepromazine to the victim. Using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method, this compound was subsequently detected (31 pg/mg) in a sample of the victim's hair collected a month and a half after the DFSA. A potential short elimination half-life in humans and/or the well-known in vitro degradation of acepromazine could explain the negative blood result. DFSA toxicological investigations are challenging and can be complicated when a rather unusual substance is concerned. In particular, special care should be taken when interpreting the results, taking into account elimination and/or instability data, when available.

Development and use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to monitor serum and urine acepromazine concentrations in thoroghbreds, and possible changes associated with exercise.

OBJECTIVES: To develop an ELISA that is sensitive and suitable for measurement of immunoreactive acepromazine (ACP) in horse serum and urine and to determine the acute effects of exercise on immunoreactive ACP values in Thoroughbreds. ANIMALS: 12 healthy Thoroughbreds (5 mares, 5 geldings, 2 stallions), aged 2 to 8 years. PROCEDURE: A commercially available antibody and a horseradish peroxidase-conjugated oxime derivative of immunoreactive ACP were used to develop a one-step ELISA. Horses were used in a crossover design study to evaluate possible effects of treadmill exercise on serum and urine ACP concentrations after a single (25 mg) IM injection of the drug. RESULTS: Immunoreactive ACP was detectable at concentrations as low as 50 pg/ml in serum and 100 pg/ml in urine, with intra- and interassay variabilities of 1.1 and 5.2%, respectively. The antibody had some cross-reactivity with a limited number of other phenothiazines. After drug administration, serum ACP immunoreactivity achieved a peak concentration (10.5 ng/ml) within 30 minutes and could be measured up to 48 hours in serum and 120 hours in urine. Although exercise had no significant effect on serum drug concentration, immunoreactive ACP disappeared more quickly (by 48 hours) from the urine of horses in the exercised group. CONCLUSIONS: This one-step ELISA provides a simple and sensitive means to measure immunoreactive ACP in equine serum and urine. The ability to detect drug several days after administration of a low dose of ACP should augment efforts to control illicit use of this drug in performance horses. Potential changes in ACP kinetics after exercise warrant further study.

Multi-residue analysis of tranquillizers in meat: confirmatory assays using mass spectrometry.

A rapid and sensitive multi-residue method was developed to attempt to confirm the presence of the beta-blocker carazolol and the tranquillizers acepromazine, azaperone, chlorpromazine, propionylpromazine and xylazine in pig muscle tissues. The procedure involves determination by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The liquid chromatographic separation was performed on a Symmetry C18 column with gradient elution. A mixture of aqueous buffer, containing 0.01% m/v trifluoroacetic acid (pH 3.5), and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.4 ml min-1 was used as the mobile phase. The abundant parent ions [M+ H+] produced by positive electrospray ionisation were selected for collisional dissociation with argon. Fragment ions were recorded with daughter ion scan and multiple reaction monitoring. The analytes were identified unambiguously by assessing retention times and diagnostic ions in meat samples spiked from 50 micrograms kg-1 [maximum residue limit (MRL) for azaperone and azaperol] to 5 micrograms kg-1 (MRL for carazolol).

Efeitos da associação da acepromazina, midazolam e quetamina sobre a pressão intra-ocular em cães / Effects of the association of acepromazine, midazolam and ketamine on intraocular pressure in dogs

Neste estudo avaliou-se, comparativamente, a ação das associações acepromazina/midazolam/quetamina e acepromazina/quetamina sobre a pressão intra-ocular. Para tanto foram utilizados 30 cães de diferentes raças e idades, com peso variando entre 7 e 15 kg. Os animais foram distribuídos, aleatoriamente, em dois grupos; os do grupo I receberam a associação de acepromazina/midazolam/quetamina e os do grupo 11 acepromazina/quetamina. Foram avaliadas a freqüência cardíaca; a pressão arterial sistólica, média e diastólica e a pressão intra-ocular antes da medicação pré-anestésica (MPA); 5 min. após a MPA; 1 min. após a indução; 1 min. após a intubação e aos 3 min. após a administração de halotano. Através da análise estatística dos resultados concluiu-se que a quetamina em doses usuais e precedida de acepromazina ou de acepromazina/midazolam não promove alteração sobre a pressão intra-ocular podendo ser recomendada como agente indutor da anestesia em cães submetidos às cirurgias intra-oculares.

In this study we evaluated comparatively the effects of two differents associations (acepromazine/midazolam/ ketamine and acepromazin/ketamine) on the intraocular pressure in dogs. Thirty dogs of differents breeds, weight ranging between 7 and 15 kg were randomly assigned to two groups: animais of group I received the association of acepromazine/midazolam/ketamine and animais of group 11 acepromazine/ketamine. Heart rate, arterial pressure and intraocular pressure were evaluated before the pre-anesthetic medication, 5 min after the pre-anesthetic medication, 1 min after induction, 1 min after endotracheal intubation and 3 min after the beginning of the inhalatory anesthesia. Statistical analysis showed that the use of ketamine in dogs premedicated with acepromazine or with association of acepromazine and midazolam did not promote any significant change in intraocular pressure values. So we can concluded that ketamine is useful and safe in ophtalmologic procedures.

[Analysis of some neuroleptics and carazolol in pork kidneys]. / Analytik einiger Neuroleptika sowie von Carazolol in Schweinenieren.

A method is described for the analytical determination of the neuroleptics azaperone (plus its metabolite azaperol), acetylpromazine, propionylpromazine, chlorpromazine and the beta-blocking agent carazolol in pork kidneys. These compounds may be used illegally to calm pigs during their transport to the abattoir. The kidney samples (plus atosil as an internal standard) are incubated with NaOH (90 degrees C, 60 min); the rather fluid samples are extracted with diethylether. The separation of interfering compounds in the extracts is achieved on a silica gel column. The remaining interfering compounds are removed with ether after acidification of the eluted material. After alkalization of the aqueous solution, the drugs are extracted with either and applied to a Symmetry RP18 column (mobile phase: acetate buffer solution pH 4.5/acetonitrile/tetrahydrofurane, 65/30/10 by volume by HPLC. Recovery in spiked samples of pork kidneys (recovery of 50 micrograms/kg, carazolol 5 micrograms/kg) was between 71.5% (for propionylpromazine) and 88% (for azaperol). The method was verified on samples of treated pigs.