Evaluation of tiletamine-zolazepam as an induction agent for ovariohysterectomy under isoflurane anaesthesia in dogs

The study was conducted to evaluate the anaesthetic potential of tiletamine-zolazepam (TZ) as an induction agent under isoflurane anaesthesia for ovariohysterectomy in dogs. Six healthy female dogs of different ages and breeds were used in the current study. All the dogs were premedicated with atropine (0.045 mg/ kg body wt, i.m.). After 5 min, the anaesthesia was induced with TZ administered intravenously till effect. During the surgery, anaesthesia was maintained with isoflurane. The clinical, physiological, haematological, haemodynamic and biochemical parameters were recorded at various time intervals. The quality of anaesthesia was good but the muscle relaxation was not adequate to perform smooth endotracheal intubation. Tachycardia was prominent in all the dogs, and a high dose (10.46±1.31 mg/kg) of TZ was required to induce anaesthesia. It was concluded that TZ alone provided inadequate analgesia and muscle relaxation that was insufficient to perform major surgeries like ovariohysterectomy.