Laboratory animals
-
New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits (n = 34) received intravenous propofol (16 +/- 5 mg/kg) for induction of anaesthesia followed by maintenance with sevoflurane (4.0 +/- 0.5%) in oxygen. All animals underwent ovariohysterectomy. Heart rate, respiratory rate, haemoglobin oxygen saturation, end-tidal carbon dioxide concentration, end-tidal sevoflurane concentration and oesophageal temperature were monitored every 5 min. ⋯ No anaesthetic-related mortality occurred and all animals recovered uneventfully. Propofol-sevoflurane anaesthesia produced a good quality of surgical anaesthesia for ovariohysterectomy and stable cardiopulmonary conditions. Propofol-sevoflurane anaesthesia in young healthy NZW rabbits appears to be an effective and practically useful method of anaesthesia.