[Perioperative hypothermia in dogs receiving combined administration of acepromazin and metamizol].

OBJECTIVE

Evaluation the development of perioperative body temperature while administrating a combination of acepromazine and metamizol (AM) versus anesthesia with acepromazine (A) alone.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

In this prospective, quasi-randomized controlled study 20 dogs undergoing standardized tibial plateau leveling osteotomy were alternatingly assigned to group A or group AM (n = 10 each). The patients' body temperature values were recorded from the time of premedication up to its post-surgical return to reference values.

RESULTS

Body temperature decreases during anesthesia in both groups were comparable (p = 0.12). Postoperatively on the other hand, temperature development differed significantly between the two groups (p = 0.0455). In 6 dogs of the group AM, body temperature continued to decrease following extubation prior to returning to normothermic values.

CONCLUSION

Intraoperatively, all patients developed hypothermia, regardless of the investigated anesthetic medication administered. Postoperatively, patients not receiving metamizol reached normothermia more rapidly.