Table 2. Drugs and dosages [median (range)] administered during anesthesia, selected intra-operative cardio-respiratory variables (mean ± SD), number of intraoperative complications and time to tracheal extubation (mean ± SD).
| Information recorded | Sevo-Op | Sevo-Dex | P value | Sevo-Op vs. Sevo-Dex | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR (95% CI) | p value | ||||
| Pre-anesthetic medication (No.) | 4 Methadone | 3 Methadone | 0.35 | - | - |
| 4 Methadone + Dexmedetomidine | 10 Methadone + Dexmedetomidine | ||||
| Methadone dose (mg/kg) | 0.22 ± 0.04 | 0.21 ± 0.03 | 0.41 | - | - |
| Dexmedetomidine dose (µg/kg) | 0.65 ± 0.25 | 0.96 ± 0.48 | 0.14 | - | - |
| Route of administration (No.) | 8 Intravenous | 10 Intravenous | 0.26 | - | - |
| 3 Intramuscular | |||||
| Induction of anesthesia (No.) & [(dose in mg/kg)] | 5 Propofol [2.6 (2–3.4)] | 9 Propofol [2.2 (1.1–2.9)] | 0.66 | - | - |
| 1 Propofol (3.1) + Lidocaine (1) | 2 Propofol (1.8) + Lidocaine (1) | ||||
| 1 Alfaxalone (2) | 1 Alfaxalone (1.1) | ||||
| 1 Alfaxalone (1.4) + Lidocaine (1) + Remifentanil (0.002) | 1 Alfaxalone (1) + Dexmedetomidine (0.0005) | ||||
| Intraoperative medications (No.) & [(dose in mg/kg)] | 8 Dexamethasone [0.2 (0.1–0.2)] | 5 Dexamethasone [0.2 (0.05–0.2)] | 0.007 | - | - |
| 1 Phenobarbital (2.5) | 1 Phenobarbital (2.9) | 0.99 | |||
| 1 Glycopirrolate (0.0075) | 2 Glycopirrolate (0.005–0.009) | 0.61 | |||
| 0 Labetalol | 1 Labetalol (2) mg/kg/h | 0.99 | |||
| 1 Acepromazine (0.01) | 2 Acepromazine (0.009–0.02) | 0.99 | |||
| 0 Paracetamol | 3 Paracetamol (10) | 0.99 | |||
| 0.26 | |||||
| Intraoperative infusion rates (No.) & [(µg/kg/min)] | 4 Remifentanil [0.25 (0.15–0.28)] | 13 Dexmedetomidine [0.012 (0.008–0.016)] | N/A | - | - |
| 2 Alfentanil [0.62 (0.57–0.66)] | 1 Lidocaine (40) | ||||
| 2 Fentanyl [0.085 (0.08–0.09)] | |||||
| 1 Lidocaine (33) | |||||
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 62 ± 15 | 65 ± 22 | 0.79 | - | - |
| Mean arterial pressure (mmHg) | 85 ± 7 | 98 ± 8 | 0.0009 | - | - |
| PE′CO2 (mmHg) | 36 ± 3 | 38 ± 3 | 0.94 | - | - |
| FE′Sevo (%) | 2.14 ± 0.21 | 2.11 ± 0.17 | 0.75 | - | - |
| Intraoperative complications (No.) | 5 Bradycardia | 11 Bradycardia | 0.33 | 3.3 (0.41–26.37) | 0.26 |
| 0 Tachycardia | 1 Tachycardia | 0.99 | 2 (0.07–56.27) | 0.67 | |
| 2 Hypotension | 1 Hypotension | 0.54 | 4 (0.30–53.47) | 0.29* | |
| 0 Hypertension | 3 Hypertension | 0.26 | 5.7 (0.26–125.56) | 0.27 | |
| 0 AV block | 3 AV block | 0.26 | 5.7 (0.26–125.56) | 0.27 | |
| 4 Hypothermia | 6 Hypothermia | 0.99 | 1.17 (0.2–6.80) | 0.86* | |
| 1 Hyperthermia | 3 Hyperthermia | 0.99 | 2.1 (0.18–24.6) | 0.55 | |
| Time to tracheal extubation (min) | 20 (10–25) | 38 (10–70) | 0.0033 | - | - |
OR and 95% CI are reported for intra-operative complications. The p values, unless otherwise stated, correspond to statistical test comparing number of animals receiving treatment rather than the dose.
SD, standard deviation; Group Sevo-Op, sevoflurane and short acting opioid infusion; Group Sevo-Dex, sevoflurane and dexmedetomidine infusion; OR, odd ratio; CI, confidence interval; PE′CO2, end-expiratory pressure of carbon dioxide; FE′Sevo, end-expiratory fraction of sevoflurane; AV block, atrio-ventricular block; NA, not available.
Asterisk (*) indicates OR calculations in which the reference group was Sevo-Dex.