Advantages and guidelines for using ketamine for induction of anesthesia.

Ketamine in combination with a sedative or tranquilizer is a relatively safe and effective drug for intravenous induction of anesthesia in dogs and cats. If properly dosed, the combination can be used to induce anesthesia with minimal adverse cardiovascular effects, and it is a reasonable method for induction of anesthesia in patients with cardiac disease. If dosage is kept low, the rate of recovery is acceptable, and some of the drugs commonly used in the regimen with ketamine are reversible with appropriate antagonists.