Serum bromide concentrations during and after halothane anesthesia in dogs.

Serum bromide concentrations of ten dogs were determined before, during, and after 2 hours of anesthesia with halothane. Serum bromide concentrations increased significantly (P less than 0.05), beginning at 30 minutes of anesthesia and remained significantly (P less than 0.05) increased until the end of the experiment--10 days after anesthesia. Peak bromide concentration occurred 1 day after anesthesia in five dogs (50%) and varied between 4 mg/dl and 8.8 mg/dl. Bromide concentration remained significantly (P less than 0.05) increased for the length of the experiment. Possible sedative or psychoactive levels of increased serum bromide concentrations are discussed.