Effects of propofol, ketamine and their combination (ketofol) as total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) on haematological, serum biochemical and hormonal profile in the surgical management of canine patients

The non-availability of the sophisticated anaesthetic machine and the necessary equipment to administer inhalant anaesthetic in the field hospitals make their use practically unfeasible for the field veterinarians. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of propofol, ketamine and their combination ‘Ketofol’ as a TIVA on certain haematological, serum biochemical and hormonal profiles in atropine and xylazine premedicated dogs. The study was conducted in eighteen clinical cases of dogs of either sex. The animals were randomly divided into three groups with six animals in each group. All the three groups were premedicated with Atropine sulphate @ 0.04 mg/kg body weight and xylazine HCl @ 0.5 mg/kg body weight intramuscularly. In group-I, propofol @ 5 mg/kg body weight, in group-II, ketamine @ 5 mg/kg body weight and in group-III, ketofol @ 4 mg/kg body weight was administered intravenously for induction after 15 minutes of pre anesthetic administration. Surgical anaesthesia was maintained for 90 minutes in all three groups viz. group-I, group-II and group-III with propofol @ 2.5 mg/kg. b.w., ketamine @ 2.5 mg/kg b.wt. and ketofol @ 2 mg/kg b.wt. respectively by intermittent bolus injection (IBI) technique. Haematological, serum biochemical and hormonal profile were evaluated before administration of the anaesthetic agent (0 minutes) then at 15, 30, 60 and 90 minutes during and after administration of anaesthetic agents. The study revealed that Hb, PCV and TEC were significantly decreased in all the groups at 60 mints and 30 mints respectively. The biochemical evaluation revealed that blood glucose level was significantly increased in all the groups until the end of the experiment. BUN and creatinine value was a significant increase in group-I and group-II than group-III at different time intervals up to the end of the experiment. In all the groups’ alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values significantly increased up to 60ᵗʰ minutes during TIVA whereas AST value was significantly increased in group-II at 30ᵗʰ and 60ᵗʰ minute of the experiment in compare to group-I and group-III. A higher level of cortisol values was recorded in group-I animals for the entire period of observation. There were no changes observed in the case of T₃. Transient variables of haemato-biochemical have been reported following propofol, ketamine and their combination (ketofol) as total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA). Thus, it has been concluded that diligent monitorization and electrolyte support are essential during the period of anaesthesia.