Evaluation of the antiemetic efficacy of maropitant in dogs medicated with morphine and acepromazine

LORENZUTTI AUGUSTO MATÍAS; MARTÍN FLORES MANUEL; LITTERIO NICOLÁS JAVIER; HIMELFARB MARTÍN ALEJANDRO; ZARAZAGA MARÍA DEL PILAR

VETERINARY ANAESTHESIA AND ANALGESIA (ONLINE)

Wiley Online Library

Año: 2016 vol. 43 p. 195 - 198

1467-2995

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether maropitant (1 mg kg -1) injected subcutaneously (SC), administered simultaneously or 30 minutes prior to intramuscular (IM) administration of morphine (0.5 mg kg -1) and acepromazine (0.05 mg kg -1), reduces the incidence of salivation, retching and emesis in dogs.Study designRandomized, controlled, prospective clinical trial. Animals Sixty dogs scheduled for an ovariohysterectomy as part of a population control program. MethodsDogs were randomly allocated to be administered maropitant (1 mg kg -1) SC simultaneously (group M0) or 30 minutes prior to (group M30) administration of morphine (0.5 mg kg -1) and acepromazine (0.05 mg kg -1) IM. A control group was administered normal saline (C) at T-30 and T0. Dogs were observed for 30 minutes after morphine?acepromazine administration. The occurrence of vomiting, retching and salivation were recorded, as well as the time to first emesis and the number of emetic events per dog.ResultsThe occurrence of salivation was not different between the groups. Retching and vomiting occurred significantly less frequently in M30 than in the other two groups (p < 0.02). The number of emetic events was also significantly less for M30 than for the other two groups (p = 0.01). When emesis occurred, the time to the first emetic event was similar among the groups. Conclusions and clinical relevanceMaropitant (1 mg kg -1) SC reduced the frequency of morphine- induced emesis by as much as 70% when administered 30 minutes in advance. Simultaneous administration of maropitant and morphine?acepromazine produced no measurable effect on the frequency of retching or vomiting.