Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia
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To investigate the cardiopulmonary effects of a xylazine-guaiphenesin-ketamine infusion combined with inter-coccygeal extradural (lidocaine) anaesthesia in calves. ⋯ Xylazine caused adverse cardiopulmonary effects in calves. Improvement occurred during xylazine-guaiphenesin-ketamine infusion. Cardiac index and arterial blood pressure remained below baseline values while sustained increases in respiration rate and PaCO2 were observed. Inter-coccygeal extradural anaesthesia had only minor effects. Oxygen supplementation proved advantageous during guaiphenesin, ketamine and xylazine infusion in healthy calves in combination with coccygeal extradural anaesthesia induced persistent cardiopulmonary depression.