Role of α2 Agonists in Isoflurane Anaesthesia in Canine

No single anaesthetic produces all of the components of general anaesthesia without depressing some vital organ function. So a multiple drug approach (balanced anaesthesia) is exploited to diminish sensory, motor, sympathetic and parasympathetic reflex activities, and to attenuate individual components of the anaesthetic state. The balanced anaesthesia technique has three components such as premedication, induction and maintenance of anaesthesia. Premedication agents are anxiolytics and pre-emptive analgesics. Premedication agents reduce the magnitude and development of pre-operative stress. Analgesics such as opioid as well as local anaesthetic agents are recommended prior to and during surgery to prevent transmission of painful stimuli. Intravenous anaesthetic such as propofol, thiopentone, ketamine and alfaxalone are recommended for induction of anaesthesia. Maintenance of anaesthesia is possible with either inhalation or intravenous anaesthetics. Inhalant anaesthetic agent have gained popularity for the maintenance of general anaesthesia as they have well known advantage such as easy administration, predictable depth of anaesthesia at particular dosages and rapid recovery.