American journal of veterinary research
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The effect of ketamine administration on the ventricular arrhythmogenic dose of epinephrine (VADE) was studied in 4 halothane-anesthetized cats. Each cat was anesthetized 4 times, 1 week apart, with halothane (end-tidal concentration, 1.5%) and with halothane (end-tidal concentration, 1.5%) combined with ketamine infusion (50, 100, and 200 micrograms/kg of body weight/min). Epinephrine was infused in progressively increasing doses. ⋯ Plasma ketamine and norketamine concentrations after a 4-hour infusion and immediately after determination of the VADE were similar for any given ketamine infusion rate, indicating that steady-state plasma concentrations had been reached for each infusion rate. Blood pressure and heart rate were measured immediately before (base line) and immediately after infusion of the VADE. Ketamine infusion significantly (P less than 005) lowered base-line blood pressure, but not heart rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)