Evaluation of ketamine, xylazine, acepromazine and diazepam combinations for anaesthesia in rabbits

The study was conducted on 21 New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cunniculus) to evaluate the efficacy and usefulness of ketamine (KET), xylazine (XYL), acepromazine (ACP) and diazepam (DIZ) combinations as injectable anaesthetics in rabbits. Animals were randomly allocated to 7 different treatment groups and administered KET (45 mg/kg) i.m. and i.v., KET-XYL (35 and 5 mg/kg), KET-ACP (35 and 1 mglkg), KET-XYL-ACP (35,5 and 1 mglkg), KET-XYL-DIZ (35, 5 and 2 mg/kg) and KET-ACP-DIZ (35,1 and 2 mglkg) i.m. Animals with KET-XYL-DIZ combination had the longest recovery time (186.5±19.7 min), while animals receiving KET i.v. had the shortest recovery time (33.15±1534 min). KET-XYL, KET-XYL-ACP and KET-XYL-DIZ combinations lowered both heart and respiratory rates while KET (i.v. and i.m.) and KET-ACP combinations increased heart and respiratory rates. KET-ACP-DIZ combination increased heart rate but decreased the respiratory rate. Hypothermia was generally evident in all treatment groups. Reflexes were abolished for longer time in KET-XYL, KET-XYL-ACP and KET-XYL-DIZ groups while KET did not abolish any of the reflexes. The results demonstrated that KET alone (at the chosen dosage) is not a suitable anaesthetic for surgical anaesthesia in rabbits. KET-XYL, KET-XYL-ACP and KET-XYL-DIZ combinations induce satisfactory surgical anaesthesia. KET-ACP and KET-ACP-DIZ combinations are not recommended for painful procedures.