Anaesthesia with medetomidine, midazolam and ketamine in six gorillas after premedication with oral zuclopenthixol dihydrochloride.

Sandra Wenger, Stefan Hoby, Fabia Wyss, Chiara Adami, Christian Wenker

Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. swenger@vetclinics.uzh.ch

Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia 2013 Mar

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To evaluate the effects of medetomidine, midazolam and ketamine (MMK) in captive gorillas after premedication with oral zuclopenthixol. Case series. Six gorillas, two males and four females, aged 9-52 years and weighing 63-155 kg. The gorillas were given zuclopenthixol dihydrochloride 0.2 ± 0.05 mg kg(-1) per os twice daily for 3 days for premedication. On the day of anaesthesia the dose of zuclopenthixol was increased to 0.27 mg kg(-1) and given once early in the morning. Anaesthesia was induced with medetomidine 0.04 ± 0.004 mg kg(-1) , midazolam 0.048 ± 0.003 mg kg(-1) and ketamine 4.9 ± 0.4 mg kg(-1) intramuscularly (IM). Upon recumbency, the trachea was intubated and anaesthesia was maintained on 1-2% isoflurane in oxygen. Physiological parameters were monitored every 10 minutes and arterial blood gas analysis was performed once 30-50 minutes after initial darting. At the end of the procedure, 42-115 minutes after initial darting, immobilisation was antagonized with atipamezole 0.21 ± 0.03 mg kg(-1) and sarmazenil 5 ± 0.4 μg kg(-1) IM. Recumbency was reached within 10 minutes in five out of six animals. One animal required two additional darts before intubation was feasible. Heart rate ranged from 60 to 85 beats minute(-1) , respiratory rate from 17 to 46 breaths minute(-1) and temperature from 36.9 to 38.3 °C. No spontaneous recoveries were observed and anaesthetic level was stable. Blood gas analyses revealed mild respiratory acidosis, and mean PaO(2) was 24.87 ± 17.16 kPa (187 ± 129 mmHg) with all values being above 13.4 kPa (101 mmHg). Recovery was smooth and gorillas were sitting within 25 minutes. The drug combination proved to be effective in anaesthetizing captive gorillas of various ages and both sexes, with minimal cardio-respiratory changes. © 2012 The Authors. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. © 2012 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists.

Citation

Sandra Wenger, Stefan Hoby, Fabia Wyss, Chiara Adami, Christian Wenker. Anaesthesia with medetomidine, midazolam and ketamine in six gorillas after premedication with oral zuclopenthixol dihydrochloride. Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia. 2013 Mar;40(2):176-80