Authors : Kamil Saglam and Abdullah Tas
Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ephedrine administered prior to induction of anesthesia on the onset time of succinylcholine for endotracheal intubation in cats. Cats were randomly assigned to receive either 70 μg kg-1 of ephedrine (Group I; n = 7) or saline (Group II; n = 7) 3 min before induction of anesthesia. Anesthesia was induced with intravenous administration of ketamine (5 mg kg-1), midazolam (0.2 mg kg-1), succinylcholine (1 mg kg-1). Onset and intubation times were recorded after succinylcholine injection. Heart rates were also measured. The onset time of succinylcholine and intubation times were significantly (p<0.01) shorter in group I, as compared with the group II (17±3, 20±3; 31±5, 36±2 sec, respectively). Heart rates were higher in the group I than in the group II at the measurement times of 1 min after ephedrine injection and 1, 3 and 5 min after succinylcholine injection. As a result, ephedrine accelerated the onset time of succinylcholine without significant adverse clinical effects and it may be an alternative in clinical conditions requiring rapid intubation in cats.
Kamil Saglam and Abdullah Tas, 2011. Effect of Ephedrine on the Onset Time of Succinylcholine in Cats. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 10: 1184-1186.