ArticlePflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology2026
CO and N
Article in Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is commonly used for rat euthanasia, but its potential negative side effects call for alternatives causing less distress while providing a fast and reliable loss of consciousness (LOC). Euthanasia with CO2 is currently performed in a highly non-standardized manner with different CO2 volume displacement rates/minute (VDRM) ranging from replacing 30 to 70% of the chamber volume with 100% CO2 per minute. Therefore, we evaluated euthanasia with 100% CO2 at 30% and 70% VDRM as well as carbon monoxide (8.6% CO at 70% VDRM), nitrogen (100% N2 at 70% VDRM) and isoflurane anesthesia (6% and 2.1% at 70% VDRM) in female and male rats. We used a multi-modal approach including telemetry for ECG, blood pressure (BP), heart rate measurements, EEG, and plethysmography. Video-recordings were used to track behavior during euthanasia. Stress hormones and lung pathology were assessed post-mortem. A VDRM of 70% CO2 resulted in a rapid LOC compared to 30%, thus, minimizing the time in which distress and eventually pain can be experienced. Nevertheless, the higher amount of distress experienced until LOC potentially outweighs the benefits of a faster LOC. CO and N2 resulted in longer times to LOC, seizures before LOC, increased stress hormone levels, and caused more lung damage. Therefore, CO and N2 are not humane alternatives to CO2 and should not be recommended for euthanasia in rats.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.