A study of the effects of dexclamol as the neuroleptic component in neuroleptanaesthesia.

In a double-blind cross-over study in dogs, dexclamol was compared with droperidol as the neuroleptic component of a neuroleptanalgestic combination. Fentanyl was the narcotic analgessic. Neuroleptanaesthesia was induced with a mixture of the neuroleptic, the analgesic and nitrous oxide in oxygen. Dexclamol 200 microng/kg i.v. was as effective as droperidol at the same dose in inducing neurolepsy and in supplementing nitrous oxide anaesthesia. Changes in heart rate, respiratory rate and rectal temperature in the animals treated with dexclamol were not different from those observed in the animals treated with droperidol. A comparison of the adrenolytic properties of dexclamol and droperidol was made on the isolated rabbit aortic strip. Both compunds produced a parallel shift to the right of the noradrenaline cumulative dose-response curves, indicating competitive antagonism. The pA2 values showed dexclamol to be approximately 15 times less potent than droperidol in inhibiting the noradrenaline-induced contraction of the rabbit aortic strip.