Sevoflurane Requirements Concerning Continuous Infusion of Dexmedetomidine in Rabbits

Dexmedetomidine provides a satisfactory sedative and analgesic effect in balanced anaesthesia of small animals. In rabbits, it provides effective sedation and intravenous infusion of one or more drugs are commonly used to induce or maintain general anaesthesia. We aimed to evaluate the effect of continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine on the Minimum Alveolar Concentration (MAC) of sevoflurane and anaesthetic efficacy in ovariohysterectomy in rabbits. A total of 24 Female rabbits of Creole, New Zealand and California breeds were randomly divided into T1 (CIR of DEX a dose of 3.5 ug/kg/h). T2 (CIR of DEX a dose of 5 ug/kg/h). For maintenance, we used sevoflurane according to the patient's needs and T3 Control (sterile saline solution). The parameters evaluated were heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, partial oxygen saturation and Minimum Alveolar Concentration (MAC) of sevoflurane. The Heart Rate (HR) showed a significant difference between treatments after 20 min (p = 0.0087) (T1 177,50 and T2 177,88 pm). However, T3 control causes an increase in HR. Dexmedetomidine CIR at a dose of 3.5 µg/kg/h reduced sevoflurane requirements to 2.4% in the first 5 min, and at a dose of 5 ug/kg/h, it reduced from 3.7-1.6%. Therefore, there is a significant difference between treatments and provides efficient sedation in patients.