A fatality related to the veterinary anesthetic telazol.
(1/16)
A 45-year-old male veterinarian was found dead in bed. Police investigation showed no evidence of trauma or other suspicious circumstances. Autopsy was unremarkable except for cardiomegaly and hepatosplenomegaly. Toxicological analysis revealed the presence of Telazol and ketamine. Telazol is a veterinary anesthetic agent that is composed of equal parts of tiletamine and zolazepam. Tiletamine is a disassociative anesthetic similar to ketamine and phencyclidine, and zolazepam is a diazepine derivative tranquilizer used to minimize the muscle hypertonicity and seizures associated with tiletamine. Quantitation of tiletamine and zolazepam was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring mode following a solid-phase extraction. Postmortem blood, urine, and liver concentrations of tiletamine were 295 ng/mL, 682 ng/mL, and 196 ng/g, respectively, whereas postmortem concentrations of zolazepam for the same tissues were 1.71 microg/mL, 1.33 microg/mL, and 15.5 microg/g, respectively. Blood and urine ketamine levels were 37 ng/mL and 381 ng/mL, respectively. The cause of death was ruled an acute mixed drug intoxication of tiletamine, zolazepam, and ketamine with the manner of death ruled as unclassified. (+info)
Anesthesia of wood bison with medetomidine-zolazepam/tiletamine and xylazine-zolazepam/tiletamine combinations.
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This study was designed to evaluate 2 combinations for immobilization of bison. Seven wood bison received 1.5 mg/kg body weight (BW) of xylazine HCl + 1.5 mg/kg BW of zolazepam HCl and 1.5 mg/kg BW of tiletamine HCl on one occasion. The bison received 60 micrograms/kg BW of medetomidine HCl + 0.6 mg/kg BW of zolazepam HCl and 0.6 mg/kg BW of tiletamine HCL on another occasion. Xylazine was antagonized with 3 mg/kg BW of tolazoline HCl and medetomidine HCl was antagonized with 180 micrograms/kg (BW) of atipamezole HCl. Temporal characteristics of immobilization and physiological effects (acid-base status, thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, and respiratory effects) of the drug combinations were compared. Induction was significantly faster with xylazine HCl-zolazepam HCl/tiletamine HCl. Recovery following antagonist administration was significantly faster with medetomidine HCl-zolazepam HCl/tiletamine HCl. The average drug volumes required were 7.00 mL of xylazine HCl-zolazepam HCl/tiletamine HCL and 2.78 mL of medetomidine HCl-zolazepam HCl/tiletamine HCl. Hypoxemia, hypercarbia, and rumenal tympany were the major adverse effects with both drug combinations. (+info)
A fatality due to injection of tiletamine and zolazepam.
(3/16)
A 22-year-old male with more than 28 needle marks on his right arm was found dead. First, he was suspected as a drug abuser. Blood, urine, spleen, and injection-site tissue was collected during autopsy. The blood and urine specimens were screened for drugs. Immunoassay studies did not show any illegal drugs. However, two unidentified peaks were isolated in both of these biological fluids by routine gas chromatography-flame-ionization detection (GC-FID) and thermionic specific detection. Additional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis determined these two peaks to be tiletamine and zolazepam. These two agents are used in combination as veterinary anesthesia. The concentrations of these drugs in blood were quantitated by GC-FID and found to be 0.85 mg/L of tiletamine and 3.3 mg/L of zolazepam. In urine, tiletamine and its metabolite, 2-(ethylamino)-2-(2-thionyl) cyclohexanol, were identified to be present along with zolazepam. The concentrations of tiletamine and zolazepam in spleen were revealed to be 0.92 and 3.5 mg/kg, respectively. Injection-site tissue concentrations were determined to be 25.1 mg/kg tiletamine and 23.3 mg/kg for zolazepam. The cause of death in this case was determined to be due to the multiple drug intoxication of tiletamine and zolazepam. (+info)
Aqueous humor dynamics following total iridectomy in the cynomolgus monkey.
(4/16)
Twenty-two cynomolgus monkeys underwent unilateral total iridectomy in vivo. Several weeks to several months postoperatively, intraocular pressure (IOP) was determined bilaterally by manometry under pentobarbital anesthesia (15 monkeys), by a minified Goldmann applanation tonometer under CI-744 anesthesia (16 monkeys), and by a minified Draeger applanation tonometer under light phencyclidine catalepsia (4 monkeys). Mean IOP in aniridic eyes was about 0.3 mm Hg, or about 3%, lower than in opposite eyes. IOPs of aniridic and opposite eyes of the individual monkeys were highly correlated in all groups. In 11 monkeys, resting total outflow facility and the facility response to intravenous pilocarpine were determined 6 to 9 weeks postoperatively by two-level constant-pressure perfusion under pentobarbital anesthesia. There were no significant differences between mean resting facility, postpilocarpine facility, or facility response to pilocarpine of aniridic and opposite eyes. Resting facility, postpilocarpine facility, and facility response to pilocarpine in aniridic and opposite eyes of the individual monkeys were each highly correlated. Total iridectomy in the cynomolgus monkey apparently has little, if any, effect on IOP, outflow facility, or facility response to intravenous pilocarpine, and the iris plays little, if any, role in mediating the facility response to intravenous pilocarpine. (+info)
Treatment of hypoxemia during xylazine-tiletamine-zolazepam immobilization of wapiti.
(5/16)
Hypoxemia is a commonly observed complication during the chemical immobilization of wild ruminants. If severe and left untreated, it can predispose animals to arrhythmias, organ failure, and capture myopathy. The following prospective study was designed to measure the degree of hypoxemia in wapiti that were immobilized with a combination of xylazine and tiletamine-zolazepam and to assess the response to nasal oxygen therapy. Pulse oximetry and arterial blood gas analysis were used to assess the degree of hypoxemia prior to nasal insufflation of oxygen and to demonstrate any beneficial effects of this intervention. All wapiti exhibited mild to marked hypoxemia (PaO2 = 43 +/- 11.8 mmHg) prior to treatment and showed marked improvement after 5 minutes of nasal insufflation of oxygen at 10 L/min (PaO2 = 207 +/- 60 mmHg). This inexpensive, noninvasive technique has great benefit in treating clinical hypoxemia under field conditions, and we recommend that nasal insufflation of oxygen be implemented during xylazine-tiletamine-zolazepam-induced immobilization of wapiti and other wild ruminants. (+info)
Chemical immobilization of adult female Weddell seals with tiletamine and zolazepam: effects of age, condition and stage of lactation.
(6/16)
BACKGROUND: Chemical immobilization of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) has previously been, for the most part, problematic and this has been mainly attributed to the type of immobilizing agent used. In addition to individual sensitivity, physiological status may play an important role. We investigated the use of the intravenous administration of a 1:1 mixture of tiletamine and zolazepam (Telazol) to immobilize adult females at different points during a physiologically demanding 5-6 week lactation period. We also compared performance between IV and IM injection of the same mixture. RESULTS: The tiletamine:zolazepam mixture administered intravenously was an effective method for immobilization with no fatalities or pronounced apnoeas in 106 procedures; however, there was a 25 % (one animal in four) mortality rate with intramuscular administration. Induction time was slightly longer for females at the end of lactation (54.9 +/- 2.3 seconds) than at post-parturition (48.2 +/- 2.9 seconds). In addition, the number of previous captures had a positive effect on induction time. There was no evidence for effects due to age, condition (total body lipid), stage of lactation or number of captures on recovery time. CONCLUSION: We suggest that intravenous administration of tiletamine and zolazepam is an effective and safe immobilizing agent for female Weddell seals. Although individual traits could not explain variation in recovery time, we suggest careful monitoring of recovery times during longitudinal studies (> 2 captures). We show that physiological pressures do not substantially affect response to chemical immobilization with this mixture; however, consideration must be taken for differences that may exist for immobilization of adult males and juveniles. Nevertheless, we recommend a mass-specific dose of 0.50-0.65 mg/kg for future procedures with adult female Weddell seals and a starting dose of 0.50 mg/kg for other age classes and other phocid seals. (+info)
Immobilization of Japanese black bears (Ursus thibetanus japonicus) with tiletamine hydrochloride and zolazepam hydrochloride.
(7/16)
The effect of anesthetizing with a 1:1 combination of tiletamine hydrochloride and zolazepam hydrochloride (TZ) was evaluated in 75 Japanese black bears. TZ was administered to 43 captive and 11 wild, 8 captives and 13 hibernating captive bears at the doses of approximately 9.0 mg/kg (usual dosage), 18.0 mg/kg (high dosage) and 5.0 mg/kg (low dosage), respectively. Sufficient anesthetic effects were achieved in all bears, and rectal temperatures, heart rates and respiratory rates did not change significantly during an hour handling. Complete blood cell examinations showed no abnormal data. A combination of TZ would be an efficient and safe drug for chemical immobilization of Japanese black bears. (+info)
Echocardiographic imaging has become the primary tool to evaluate cardiac structure and function in human and veterinary medicine. The cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) is a nonhuman primate species frequently used in biomedical research, particularly for the study of human cardiovascular disease and toxicology, yet echocardiographic reference ranges are not available for this species. Using standard 2-dimensional and M-mode imaging, we performed echocardiographic evaluation of 118 female and 119 male cynomolgus monkeys under sedation with either ketamine hydrochloride (10 mg/ kg IM) alone or with a combination of tiletamine hydrochloride and zolazepam (4.0 mg/kg IM) and atropine sulfate (0.015 mg/kg IM). Reference ranges were developed (tolerance interval methodology) separately for each gender for heart rate, left ventricular (LV) size (interventricular septum in diastole, LV internal diameter in diastole and systole, LV free wall in diastole), left atrial diameter, and aortic diameter. LV functional parameters (fractional shortening, aortic peak flow velocity, LV ejection time, and LV preejection period) and mitral valve E point to septal separation were also measured. After normalization for body weight (1.7 to 6.3 kg), the data were analyzed for gender- and sedation-associated differences. Using a large number of healthy subjects (118 of each gender), we have developed gender-specific echocardiographic reference ranges for cynomolgus monkeys. (+info)