Comparison of Telazol, Telazol-ketamine, Telazol-xylazine, and Telazol-ketamine-xylazine as chemical restraint and anesthetic induction combination in swine.

The use of Telazol (T, tiletamine and zolazepam, 4.4 mg T/kg) alone, Telazol-ketamine (TK, 4.4 mg T/kg and 2.2 mg K/kg), Telazol-xylazine (TX, 4.4 mg T/kg, 2.2 mg X/kg), and Telazol-ketamine-xylazine (TKX, 4.4 mg T/kg, 2.2 mg K/kg, and 2.2 mg X/kg) as chemical restraint and anesthetic induction combination was compared in pigs. Forty mixed-breed healthy pigs (24.4 +/- 5.6 kg, mean +/- SD) were randomly assigned to the four treatment groups (T, TK, TX, TKX) with 10 pigs in each group. All the anesthetics were premixed by adding sterile water, ketamine, xylazine, or xylazine and ketamine directly into the Telazol vial and given as a single intramuscular injection. All four anesthetic combinations induced a rapid onset of sternal recumbency within 1.76 +/- 1.0 minutes and lateral recumbency within 3.02 +/- 2.2 minutes in pigs after intramuscular injection; there was no significant difference among treatments. The combinations TX and TKX induced analgesia (as evident by a lack of response to needle prick in the middle portion of the pinna and flank regions) duration of 29.0 +/- 11.0 and 36.0 +/- 12.2 minutes, respectively, and ability to tolerate tracheal intubation (as evident by lack of coughing and chewing response to a laryngoscope) for a period of 34.0 +/- 8.4 and 39.0 +/- 9.9 minutes, respectively. The combinations T and TK did not induce analgesia nor conditions suitable for intubation. Duration of lateral recumbency was 29.9 +/- 10, 33.1 +/- 6.9, 52.2 +/- 6.9, and 61.5 +/- 10.7 minutes in T-, TK-, TX-, and TKX-treated pigs, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)