UNDERSTANDING THE SYNERGISTIC IMPACT OF ATROPINE WITH XYLAZINE AND KETAMINE ON RECOVERY TIME, HEART RATE AND RESPIRATORY RATE IN MALE RABBITS

ABDULJALEEL, MOHAMMED R.; ABDULRAZAQ, ASHRAFF W; JASSIM, MOHAMMED M.; ABBAS, MOSA F.; ALFARIS, ABDALBARI A; NAEEM, RAFID M.; IBRAHIM, ALAA A.; MOHAMMED SALEH, WESSAM MONTHER; ALRASHID, IBRAHIM M.H.; ALRAFAS, HAIDER RASHEED

doi:10.21608/avmj.2025.341413.1505

UNDERSTANDING THE SYNERGISTIC IMPACT OF ATROPINE WITH XYLAZINE AND KETAMINE ON RECOVERY TIME, HEART RATE AND RESPIRATORY RATE IN MALE RABBITS

Document Type : Research article

Authors

¹ Department of Surgery and Obstetrics, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq

² Department of Surgery and Obstetric, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq

³ Department of Internal and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Basrah, Basra State, Iraq.

⁴ Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Basrah, Basrah-Iraq.

10.21608/avmj.2025.341413.1505

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the synergistic or antagonistic impacts of atropine alone or in combination with xylazine and ketamine on recovery time, heart rate, and respiratory rate during surgical interventions in rabbits. Fifteen rabbits were randomly assigned into three groups; the first group (GA) was injected with atropine for 10 minutes followed by a full dose of ketamine-xylazine (XK) injection, the second group (GB) was injected with atropine for 10 minutes followed by a half-dose injection of xylazine-ketamine mixture (XK), and the third group (GC) was injected only with a complete dose of xylazine-ketamine mixture. Based on the observation of recovery time, we demonstrated that half doses of ketamine and xylazine significantly (P=0.0009 and 0.0051) increased the time of recovery compared to any other treatment groups. Furthermore, the GB and GC groups experienced a substantial decrease in recovery time, which was directly proportional to the used dose. The effects of complete and half doses of ketamine and xylazine on heart and respiration rates in male rabbits were observed. No significant difference in heart rates amongst all treated groups before the injection of doses; however, a significant (P=0.00012) decrease in recovery time was observed in the GC group, compared to other treated groups. Using atropine with xylazine and ketamine increased anaesthesia longevity when compared with ketamine and xylazine alone. Importantly, the anaesthetic effect of atropine with full or half doses of xylazine and ketamine was similar. Interestingly, we revealed that heart and respiratory rates are improved when atropine is applied with half doses of xylazine and ketamine.

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