For intravenous, intramuscular and subcutaneous injection only.
It should be noted that dosage and routes of administration vary widely between species.
Dog-Xylazine/ketamine
Due to the low doses required for small animals, an insulin type syringe should be used for dose measurement.
Dosage and administration: Administer xylazine at a dose rate of 1 mg/kg by intramuscular injection. Immediately administer the product at a dose rate of 15 mg/kg by intramuscular injection.
Induction time to loss of the pedal reflex takes about 7 minutes with duration of anaesthesia lasting about 24 minutes. Arousal time, from time of injection to pedal reflex return, takes about 30 minutes.
Dog-Medetomidine/ketamine
Dosage and administration: Administer medetomidine at a dose rate of 40 microgram/kg and the product at 5.0 or 7.5 mg/kg (depending on the duration of anaesthesia required) by intramuscular injection.
Ketamine* Dose mg/kg | Induction time (to loss of pedal reflex) minutes | Duration of anaesthesia minutes | Arousal time (from injection time to pedal reflex return) minutes |
5.0 | 11 | 30 | 40 |
7.5 | 7 | 51 | 58 |
*combined with medetomidine at 40 microgram/kg.
Cat-Ketamine
Dosage and administration: The product may be used by intravenous or subcutaneous injection, but intramuscular injection is the recommended route. The dose is 11-33 mg/kg depending on the degree of restraint or surgical interference that is intended.
The following dosages are indicated as a guide but may need to be adjusted depending on the physical condition of the patient and the conjoint usage of sedatives and premedicants.
Dose mg/kg | Clinical procedures |
11 | Minor restraint |
22-33 | Minor surgery and restraint of fractious cats |
In conjunction with supplemental sedatives or anaesthetics | |
22-33 | Laparotomy, orthopaedics etc. |
Vomiting is unlikely to occur when the product is used alone; however food should be withheld from cats for several hours prior to anaesthesia where possible. Induction and recovery should be allowed to occur in quiet and calm surroundings. Duration of the product anaesthesia is 20-40 minutes and recovery takes place over a 1-4 hour period. Both are prolonged by the use of premedicants.
Ketamine-supplement combinations in the cat: Atropine premedication is generally recommended at 0.05mg/kg to reduce salivation. Endotracheal intubation can be achieved during use of the product for anaesthesia. Inhalation anaesthesia may be maintained by suitable combinations of methoxyflurane, halothane, nitrous oxide and oxygen.
Acepromazine (0.11mg/kg) and atropine (0.05mg/kg) by intramuscular injection may be used as a premedicant prior to administration of the product at 22mg/kg, or may be administered simultaneously with the product.
Cat-Xylazine/ketamine
Dosage and administration: Xylazine (1.1 mg/kg) and atropine (0.3 mg/kg) by intramuscular injection may be used 20 minutes prior to the product at 22 mg/kg. Xylazine may induce vomiting up to 20 minutes after administration. Onset of anaesthesia after intramuscular injection of the product takes 3-6 minutes.
A xylazine/ketamine combination produces a deeper anaesthesia with more pronounced respiratory and cardiac effects and a longer recovery period than acepromazine/ketamine combinations.
Cat-Medetomidine/ketamine
Dosage and administration: Medetomidine should be administered at a dose rate of 80µg/kg by intramuscular injection. This should be followed immediately by the intramuscular injection of the product at a dose rate of 2.5mg up to a maximum of 7.5mg ketamine/kg (depending on the duration of anaesthesia required).
Onset of anaesthesia is 3-4 minutes. The duration of surgical anaesthesia varies between 30-60 minutes and is related to the dose of the product used. If required, anaesthesia may be prolonged with halothane and oxygen with or without nitrous oxide.
Atropine is not normally necessary when using a medetomidine/ketamine combination.
Horse and Donkey-Xylazine/Ketamine
For the production of short term anaesthesia suitable for minor surgical interference or for induction prior to inhalation anaesthesia. The product alone should never be used as a sole anaesthetic agent.
Dosage and administration: Xylazine should be administered by slow intravenous injection at a dose rate of 1.1 mg/kg. The horse should appear sedated by 2 minutes post injection. The product should be administered at this stage. It is recommended not to delay the injection longer than 5 minutes after xylazine administration. The product should be administered as an intravenous bolus at a dose rate of 2.2 mg/kg.
Induction and recumbency takes 1-2 minutes. Muscle jerking may occur in the first minutes, but this usually subsides.
Anaesthesia is variable in duration, lasting 10-30 minutes, usually less than 20 minutes. Horses usually stand 25-45 minutes after induction. Recovery is usually quiet, but may occur suddenly. It is important therefore that short duration interferences only are attempted, or arrangements to prolong anaesthesia are made. For longer periods of anaesthesia, intubation and maintenance by inhalation anaesthesia can be used.
It is important that both induction and recovery should occur in quiet and calm surroundings.
Horse-Detomidine/ketamine:
For the production of short term anaesthesia suitable for minor surgical interference or for induction prior to inhalation anaesthesia. The product should never be used as sole anaesthetic agent.
Dosage and administration: Detomidine should be administered by intravenous injection at a dose rate of 20 microgram/kg. The horse should appear sedated by five minutes post injection. At this stage the product should be administered at a dose rate of 2.2 mg/kg as an intravenous bolus.
Onset of anaesthesia is gradual; most horses take approximately one minute to become recumbent. Large, fit horses may take up to three minutes for recumbency. Anaesthesia continues to deepen for a further 1-2 minutes and during this time the horse should be left quietly.
Horses regain sternal recumbency approximately 20 minutes post ketamine injection giving a surgical anaesthesia duration of 10-15 minutes.
Should it be necessary to prolong anaesthesia, thiopentone sodium may be administered intravenously in boluses of 1mg/kg as required. Total doses of 5 mg/kg (five 1 mg/kg increments) have been given. Total doses greater than this may reduce the quality of recovery. Thiopentone can also be administered in increments if sufficient depth of anaesthesia is not achieved.
The horse may be ataxic if encouraged to stand prematurely and so should be left to stand in its own time.