• Anne M Voigt, Carina Bergfeld, Martin Beyerbach, and Sabine B R Kästner.
• Small Animal Clinic, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bünteweg 9, D-30559 Hannover, Germany. anne_voigt@gmx.de
• Am. J. Vet. Res. 2013 May 1; 74 (5): 665-71.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the influence of 3 anesthetic protocols and multiples of minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) on heart rate variability (HRV) with and without nociceptive stimulation in dogs.Animals6 healthy adult Beagles.ProceduresEach dog was anesthetized 3 times: with isoflurane alone, with isoflurane and a constant rate infusion of dexmedetomidine (IsoD; 3 μg/kg/h, IV), and with isoflurane and a constant rate infusion of remifentanil (IsoR; 18 μg/kg/h, IV). Individual MAC was determined via supramaximal electrical stimulation. Sinus rhythm-derived intervals between 2 adjacent R-R intervals were exported from ECG recordings. Selected HRV time and frequency domain variables were obtained (at 2-minute intervals) and analyzed offline with signed rank tests before and after stimulation at 0.75, 1.0, and 1. 5 MAC for each anesthetic session.ResultsThe isoflurane session had the overall lowest prestimulation SDNN (SD of all R-R intervals) values. Prestimulation SDNN values decreased significantly with increasing MAC in all sessions. For the IsoD session, SDNN (milliseconds) or high-frequency power (milliseconds(2)) was inversely correlated with MAC (Spearman rank correlation coefficient for both variables, -0.77). In the isoflurane and IsoR sessions, heart rate increased significantly after stimulation. In the IsoD session, poststimulation SDNN was increased significantly, compared with prestimulation values, at 0.75 and 1.0 MAC.Conclusions And Clinical RelevanceOn the basis of SDNN and high-frequency power values, anesthetic levels between 0.75 and 1.5 MAC within the same anesthetic protocol could be differentiated, but with a large overlap among protocols. Usefulness of standard HRV variables for assessment of anesthetic depth and nociception in dogs is questionable.

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