The influence of acepromazine (ACP) on the effectiveness of dobutamine (DBT) in increasing blood pressure during isoflurane (ISO) anesthesia was evaluated in six horses. On separate occasions, the horses were randomly assigned to receive NaCl 0.9% (Control), ACP 0.025mg kg-1 and ACP 0.05mg kg-1. The experimental treatment was administered prior to induction of anesthesia. Maintenance of anesthesia was performed under conditions of normocapnia with ISO in oxygen. Dobutamine was administered at progressively increasing infusion rates until mean arterial pressure (MAP) reached 70mmHg or until a maximum infusion rate of 5.0µg kg-1 min-1. Compared with baseline, DBT increased heart rate, systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressures in all treatments. However, these variables did not differ among treatments. The target MAP (70mmHg) was not reached in 2/6, 2/5 and 0/6 horses in the Control, ACP0.025 and ACP0.05 treatments, respectively. The mean dose of DBT to achieve target MAP was 3.5±1.8, 3.7±1.6 and 2.7±1.4µg kg-1 min-1 in the Control, ACP0.025 and ACP0.05 treatments, respectively (P>0.05). Under the conditions of this study, premedication with ACP does not interfere with the effectiveness of DBT in increasing blood pressure in horses anesthetized with ISO.
phenothiazines; catecholamines; equine; inhalational anesthesia
