Romifidine-propofol-halothane anesthesia for endoscopic exploration of thedigestive tract in dogs

Endoscopy of the superior digestive tract may be difficult in many dogs and cats, and certain anesthetic drugs may influence examination. An anestheti c protocol based on romifidine alone or with atropine for premedication, pr opofol for induction, and haloethane for surgical plane maintenance was ass essed in this study. Six clinically normal dogs of different breeds, age, a nd weight were used. Digestive tract endoscopy was randomly performed twice in all dogs with and interval of 7 days between each procedure. Vomiting w as less frequent in dogs premedicated with atropine. Reflux from the mouth during anesthesia was seen in 33.3% of dogs, with a similar percentage in b oth groups. An excess of digestive secretions was seen in two dogs premedic ated with romifidine. Passage through the pylorus was found to be more diff icult when atropine was used for premedication. Thus, romifidine and propof ol resulted in a good protocol for endoscopic examination of the digestive tract in dogs. Further, the use of atropine did not excessively interfere w ith the endoscopic procedure although no marked benefits could be observed.