Basic Medications Flashcards
What is the duration of Acepromazine?
clinical doses cause sedation for up to 6 hours.
What are the positives of Acepromazine?
Phenothiazine with depressant effect on the CNS, thereby
causing sedation and a reduction in spontaneous activity.
Use: Sedation or pre-anaesthetic medication in dogs and cats. ACP
raises the threshold for cardiac arrhythmias and has antiemetic
properties. Sedation is unreliable when ACP is used alone; combining
ACP with an opioid drug improves sedation (neuroleptanalgesia) and
the opioid provides analgesia. The depth of sedation is dosedependent up to a plateau (0.1 mg/kg). Increasing the dose above
0.1 mg/kg does little to improve the predictability of achieving
adequate sedation but increases the risk of incurring adverse effects,
the severity of adverse effects and the duration of action of any effects
(desirable or adverse) that arise. The lower end of the dose range
should be used for giant-breed dogs to allow for the effects of
metabolic body size. Onset of sedation is 20–30 minutes after i.m.
administration; clinical doses cause sedation for up to 6 hours. The
oral dose of ACP tablets required to produce sedation varies between
individual animals, and high doses can lead to very prolonged
sedation. Also used for the management of thromboembolism in cats
because of its peripheral vasodilatory action. The use of ACP in the
management of sound phobias in dogs, such as firework or thunder
phobia, is not recommended.
Safety and handling: Normal precautions should be observed.
Contraindications: Hypotension due to shock, trauma or
cardiovascular disease. Avoid in animals <3 months and animals with
liver disease. Use cautiously in anaemic animals as it will exacerbate
the anaemia by sequestration of red blood cells in the spleen. In
Boxers, spontaneous fainting and syncope can occur due to sinoatrial
block caused by excessive vagal tone; use low doses or avoid.
Adverse reactions: Rarely, healthy animals may develop profound
hypotension following administration of phenothiazines. Supportive
therapy to maintain body temperature and fluid balance is indicated
until the animal is fully recovered.
Drug interactions: Other CNS depressant agents (e.g. barbiturates,
propofol, alfaxalone, volatile anaesthetics) will cause additive CNS
depression if used with ACP. Doses of other anaesthetic drugs should
be reduced when ACP has been used for premedication. Increased
levels of both drugs may result if propranolol is administered with
phenothiazines. As phenothiazines block alpha-adrenergic receptors,
concomitant use with adrenaline may lead to unopposed beta activity,
thereby causing vasodilation and tachycardia. Antidiarrhoeal mixtures
(e.g. kaolin/pectin, bismuth salicylate) and antacids may cause
reduced GI absorption of oral phenothiazines
What are the negatives of Acepromazine?
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