• Maria Helena M Bellei, Carolyn Kerr, M Kimberly J McGurrin, Daniel G Kenney, and Peter Physick-Sheard.
• Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
• J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2007 Oct 15;231(8):1225-30.

ObjectiveTo describe management of anesthesia for transvenous electrical cardioversion (TVEC) in horses and report perianesthetic complications.DesignRetrospective case series.Animals62 horses with atrial fibrillation and without underlying cardiac disease and 60 horses without atrial fibrillation.ProceduresMedical records of horses with atrial fibrillation anesthetized for TVEC were reviewed, as were records of horses without atrial fibrillation anesthetized for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The TVEC group horses were compared with MRI group horses for incidence of intraoperative bradycardia and use of inotropic drugs. Data obtained included patient signalment, weight, duration of anesthesia, heart rate and arterial blood pressure during anesthesia, anesthetic drugs administered, mode of ventilation, perioperative complications, and quality of recovery.ResultsThe TVEC group horses were > 1 year of age and were predominantly Standardbreds. The TVEC group horses underwent a total of 76 anesthetic episodes. For 40 (52.6%) anesthetic episodes, horses received xylazine only for premedication, and for 26 (34.2%) anesthetic episodes, horses received xylazine and butorphanol. Induction of anesthesia consisted of ketamine administration in various combinations with diazepam and guaifenesin for 74 (97.4%) anesthetic episodes and ketamine alone for 2 (2.6%). Bradycardia in horses was encountered during 15 of 76 (19.7%) anesthetic episodes. Minor signs of possible postanesthetic myopathy occurred following 6 (7.9%) anesthetic episodes. No significant difference was found between TVEC and MRI group horses regarding incidence of bradycardia and inotropic drug administration.Conclusions And Clinical RelevanceShort-duration anesthesia for TVEC of atrial fibrillation in horses without underlying cardiac disease was a safe procedure.

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