A comparison of body temperature changes due to the administration of ketamine-acepromazine and tiletamine-zolazepam anesthetics in cynomolgus macaques.

Two commonly used anesthetic combinations, ketamine acepromazine and tiletamine-zolazepam, were compared to identify their effects upon body temperature in cynomolgus macaques. We allocated 30 cynomolgus macaques previously implanted with subcutaneous telemetry devices into two groups of 15 animals. Baseline temperature data were collected for 3 days before administering anesthesia to establish normal diurnal temperature patterns for each monkey. Each group then was anesthetized with either ketamine-acepromazine or tiletamine-zolazepam, and their body temperatures were recorded at 15-min intervals. Both groups had marked decreases in body temperature, with the greatest decreases in the tiletamine-zolazepam group. In addition, both groups had notable post-anesthesia elevations in body temperature that often lasted for more than 24 h postinduction.