Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40240154›Full record

ArticleExperimental animals2025

Dual-route medetomidine-alfaxalone-butorphanol anesthesia: a refined protocol for balanced anesthesia in male rabbits.

Risa Iwanaga, Munekatsu Ita, Kanako Sumi, Chizuko Kodama, Mohammad Ibrahim Qasimi, Jun Tamura, Ko Nakanishi, Kayoko Matsumura, Masami Morimatsu, Yasuhiro Yoshida and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental animals, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Risa IwanagaDepartment of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13-Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8586, Japan.
Munekatsu ItaTechnical Support Team, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18-Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
Kanako SumiDepartment of Biological Safety Research, Chitose Laboratory, Japan Food Research Laboratories, 2-3 Bunkyo, Chitose, Hokkaido 066-0052, Japan.
Chizuko KodamaDepartment of Biological Safety Research, Chitose Laboratory, Japan Food Research Laboratories, 2-3 Bunkyo, Chitose, Hokkaido 066-0052, Japan.
Mohammad Ibrahim QasimiDepartment of Biological Safety Research, Chitose Laboratory, Japan Food Research Laboratories, 2-3 Bunkyo, Chitose, Hokkaido 066-0052, Japan.
Jun TamuraVeterinary Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18-Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
Ko NakanishiDepartment of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13-Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8586, Japan.
Kayoko MatsumuraDepartment of Biological Safety Research, Chitose Laboratory, Japan Food Research Laboratories, 2-3 Bunkyo, Chitose, Hokkaido 066-0052, Japan.
Masami MorimatsuLaboratory of Laboratory Animal Science and Medicine, Department of Applied Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18-Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
Yasuhiro YoshidaDepartment of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 13-Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8586, Japan.
Teppei NakamuraLaboratory of Laboratory Animal Science and Medicine, Department of Applied Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18-Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Injectable anesthesia is widely used in laboratory animals because of its ease of administration and minimal equipment requirements. However, it necessitates careful monitoring as well as thermal and oxygen support. This study evaluated the efficacy of medetomidine-alfaxalone-butorphanol (MAB) anesthesia in male rabbits using a dual-route administration protocol. The anesthetic doses were as follows: medetomidine, 0.2 mg/kg; alfaxalone, 2.0 mg/kg; and butorphanol, 2.0 mg/kg. MAB anesthesia, administered via intravenous and subcutaneous routes, induced rapid and smooth induction, achieving anesthetic scores comparable to those of medetomidine-midazolam-butorphanol (MMB) anesthesia. MAB anesthesia resulted in mild hypothermia during the procedure. Upon atipamezole administration, rabbits under MAB anesthesia exhibited faster recovery of the righting reflex and respiration rate than those under MMB. Importantly, no abnormal behaviors, such as jumping or agitation, were observed during induction or recovery, as reported with alfaxalone use in other species. Both protocols maintained spontaneous breathing, although transient hypoxemia was observed in all rabbits. The dual-route MAB protocol provided effective anesthesia while addressing the limitations of conventional MMB anesthesia in rabbits, suggesting its potential as a refined anesthetic method for this species. Unlike mice, which showed weaker anesthetic effects with MAB compared to MMB, MAB demonstrated superior anesthetic properties in rabbits. This study highlights the importance of species-specific anesthetic protocols and the potential benefits of MAB anesthesia in rabbits, particularly its smooth induction and recovery profile, without adverse behaviors often associated with alfaxalone in other species.

Indexed as

AnesthesiaAnesthetics, CombinedButorphanolMedetomidinePregnanedionesAnimalsInjections, SubcutaneousMaleRabbitsalphaxaloneAnesthetics, CombinedButorphanolMedetomidinePregnanedionesalfaxalonedual-routeinjectable anesthesiarabbitrapid recovery

Identifiers

PMID40240154
PMCPMC12665996

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.