Evaluation of anaesthesia with xylazine-ketamine and xylazine-fentanyl-ketamine in rabbits: A comparative study

Clinical and serum biochemical markers were utilized to assess the clinical efficacy of routinely used preanaesthetics and induction agents in rabbits. Eight healthy rabbits (3.0-3.5kg) of either sex were randomly assigned to one of two groups: XK (Xylazine-ketamine) or XFK (Xylazine–fentanyl–ketamine). Intramuscular injections of xylazine (5 mg/kg), ketamine (35 mg/kg), and fentanyl (0.02 mg/kg) were given to rabbits. Clinical parameters (rectal temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate), as well as reflexes (righting reflex, palpebral reflex, and pedal reflex), were measured before and after anaesthetic injection at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 minutes. Blood samples were also taken before anaesthesia and 30 minutes following induction. An autoanalyzer was used to examine serum biochemical parameters. In the XFK group, we observed that rectal temperature increased considerably (P