COMPARISON OF INTRAMUSCULAR FENTANYL-MIDAZOLAM, FENTANYL-MIDAZOLAM-KETAMINE, AND KETAMINE-MEDETOMIDINE FOR IMMOBILIZATION OF JAPANESE MACAQUES (MACACA FUSCATA)

Abstract The combination of fentanyl and midazolam is commonly used as a sedative in humans. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sedative properties and physiological effects of fentanyl-midazolam and fentanyl-midazolam-ketamine compared with medetomidine-ketamine given intramuscularly in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). In a randomized crossover design, eight Japanese macaques were hand-injected with either 30 μg/kg fentanyl + 0.3 mg/kg midazolam (FM), 15 μg/kg fentanyl + 0.3 mg/kg midazolam + 5.0 mg/kg ketamine (FMK), or 0.05 mg/kg medetomidine + 5.0 mg/kg ketamine (MedK). Heart rate; indirect systolic, mean, and diastolic arterial pressure; respiratory rate; blood gas concentrations; rectal temperature; and duration of immobilization were recorded. Mixed linear models were used to evaluate the effects of drug treatment on all continuous variables, with a significance level of P < 0.05. Only three of seven animals receiving FM were successfully immobilized. All eight animals in both the F...