Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Jul;49(4):454-9.

Anesthesia with intraperitoneal propofol, medetomidine, and fentanyl in rats

Heber Nuno Castro Alves  1 , Aura Luísa Maia da Silva, Ingrid Anna S Olsson, José Manuel Gonzalo Orden, Luis Marques Antunes
Affiliations

Anesthesia with intraperitoneal propofol, medetomidine, and fentanyl in rats

Heber Nuno Castro Alves et al. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2010 Jul.

Abstract

A safe and reliable method for anesthetizing rats has long been a leading concern of biomedical researchers. We recently found that the intraperitoneal administration of propofol combined with medetomidine and fentanyl is safe for mouse anesthesia. Here we studied whether the same combination could be used for general anesthesia in rats. We used male Wistar rats to test 10 combinations of propofol, medetomidine, and fentanyl administered intraperitoneally and reversed with intraperitoneal atipamezole 30 min after induction. The depth of anesthesia, induction time, loss of pedal withdrawal reflex, pulse rate, and respiratory rate were evaluated, along with the duration and quality of induction, surgical anesthesia, and recovery. The combination of propofol and medetomidine provided a predictable induction and sufficient hypnosis and muscle relaxation, but surgical anesthesia (loss of pedal withdrawal reflex) was difficult to achieve with this protocol. The addition of fentanyl increased analgesia, making it possible to achieve surgical anesthesia. In conclusion, combination of propofol (100 mg/kg), medetomidine (0.1 mg/kg), and fentanyl (0.1 mg/kg) is a safe and practical technique for intraperitoneal anesthesia in rats, providing a surgical window of 25 min and restraint for 30 min, with rapid recovery after administration of atipamezole.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Anesthetic intervals studied.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mean pulse rate (bpm) during 5-min intervals after induction of anesthesia (0 min) in rats given 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.3 mg/kg fentanyl (▪),100 mg/kg propofol + 0.3 mg/kg medetomidine (•), 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.1 medetomidine + 0.1 mg/kg fentanyl (×), or 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.1 medetomidine + 0.3 mg/kg fentanyl (▴).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Mean respiratory rate (in movements per minute, mpm) during 5-min intervals after induction of anesthesia (0 min) in rats given 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.3 mg/kg fentanyl (▪),100 mg/kg propofol + 0.3 mg/kg medetomidine (•), 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.1 medetomidine + 0.1 mg/kg fentanyl (×), or 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.1 medetomidine + 0.3 mg/kg fentanyl (▴).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Median depth of anesthesia during 5-min intervals after induction of anesthesia (0 min) in rats given 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.3 mg/kg fentanyl (▪), 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.3 mg/kg medetomidine (•), 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.1 medetomidine + 0.1 mg/kg fentanyl (×), or 100 mg/kg propofol + 0.1 medetomidine + 0.3 mg/kg fentanyl (▴).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alves HC, Valentim A, Olsson A, Antunes LM. 2007. Effects of a fixed dose of medetomidine or fentanyl on propofol requirements for loss of consciousness in mice. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, 13–17 Oct 2007 San Francisco, CA
    1. Alves HC, Valentim AM, Olsson IA, Antunes LM. 2007. Intraperitoneal propofol and propofol, fentanyl, sufentanil, and remifentanil combinations for mouse anaesthesia. Lab Anim 41:329–336 - PubMed
    1. Alves HC, Valentim AM, Olsson IA, Antunes LM. 2009. Intraperitoneal anaesthesia with propofol, medetomidine, and fentanyl in mice. Lab Anim 43:27–33 - PubMed
    1. Antunes LM, Ferreira CS, Ferreira DA, Nunes CS, Amorim P, Guardão L. 2003. Propofol and propofol–remifentanil intraperitoneal anaesthesia in rats: a preliminary report. Eighth World Congress of Veterinary Anesthesia, 16–20 Sep 2003 Knoxville, TN
    1. Antunes LM, Roughan JV, Flecknell PA. 2001. Evaluation of auditory evoked potentials to predict depth of anaesthesia during fentanyl–fluanisone–midazolam anaesthesia in rats. Vet Anaesth Analg 28:196–203 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms