Etomidate anesthesia in chicks: Effect of xylazine

Abstract

No former study deals with the etomidate anesthetic action, its toxicity profile and the drug safety of etomidate or the effect of xylazine coadministration in chicks so that, it is first enrolled here. At the beginning, using the up-and-down technique, it was assessed that the hypnotic Median Effective Dose (ED 50 ) value was 4.30 mg/kg, IM, whereas the acute Median Toxic Dose (TD 50 ) value was 17.90 mg/kg, IM in the chicks. In response, the calculated TI and SSM values indicate that etomidate has a wide safety margin. Etomidate injection at 4, 8 and 16 mg/kg, IM yields a significant dose-response and dependent hypnosis in the chicks by evaluating the onset of the righting reflex loss, its period and regaining from it. The combination comprising of etomidate and xylazine at 5 mg/kg, IM for each, reduced the onset of hypnosis and significantly distended its period as well as a significant upturn in the regaining time from the hypnosis when associated with the group receiving etomidate alone. At the same time, this coadministered drugs elicited a significant increase in the percentage of analgesia and analgesic efficacy by using an electrostimulator to induce pain sensation. In relation to plasma glucose, Alanine Transaminase (ALT) and Aspartate Transaminase (AST) concentrations, neither etomidate nor etomidate plus xylazine differ significantly from control group. The results of this study propose the likelihood of using etomidate as an anesthetic agent for short surgical trials in the chickens that can be augmented and improved by using xylazine to yield balanced anesthesia.