dGreetings Hallmarq users, I hope to share tips with all of you that might have many of the same questions I have had.  As we all know, sedation is a huge part of completing a diagnostic study on the standing horse.  I started out using Detomidine and Butophanol, this worked well, but made for a very ataxic patient.  I have switched to Romifidine and Butopanol, this plants the horse like a champ.  To lesson our chances of colic, we tube our horses with oil post study.  Our number of colics if very low.  I am curious how many people are using Sedivet, and how high or low the colic numer is. 

Thank you, I hope to hear from some of you soon.

Jennifer Harrison

UC Davis

J

Thanks for the information, Jennifer, hope fully others will add their experiences/protocols for us to all learn from.

I wanted to add that I called the manufacturers of Sedivet and they said that the earliest it was likely to be back on the market in the US would be August 2010, so it looks like romifidine will be off the menu for most folks for a while.

If I find out anything more on this I will post details here.

Regards,

Dan

Previously Dan Brown wrote:

Thank you Dan,

that is helpful information, and will most likely use Detomidine when the Sedivet depletes.

Do you know of other sedation combos people are using with a successful record? 

Thank you Dan,

J

Jennifer

Thanks for the information, Jennifer, hope fully others will add their experiences/protocols for us to all learn from.

 

I wanted to add that I called the manufacturers of Sedivet and they said that the earliest it was likely to be back on the market in the US would be August 2010, so it looks like romifidine will be off the menu for most folks for a while.

 

If I find out anything more on this I will post details here.

 

Regards,

Dan

Hi Jennifer,

Dan and I recently visited a number of sites in the US working on a protocol for bone screening scans for the Thoroughbred racehorse.  Considerable work has been done in the UK, particularly at the Newmarket sites, on this and clearly sedation is critical.

The UK sites all use romfidine, though generally in combination with both detomidine and butorphanol in a variety of protocols.  Because of the supply problems in the US we worked with our customers on a suitable protocol without Sedivet, and in general seemed to get best results with:

- An induction dose of 3mg detomidine + 3mg butorphanol (0.3ml Dormosedan + 0.3ml Torbugesic).  Leave for 5-10 min to take effect.  Some customers consider a premed dose of 10mg ACE beforehand, but this is rare and beware contraindications for stallions.

- A drip consisting of 40mg detomidine and 40mg butorphanol in 1l saline (or quantities reduced pro-rata for a smaller drip bag).  The drip rate is adjusted during the scan by careful observation of the horse, and will usually be 1-2 drips/sec.

- Some sites prefer repeat injections rather than a drip.  If so though the injections should be tiny eg 0.1ml Dorm/0.1 Torb, or 0.2ml Dorm/0.2 Torb.

- Some sites prefer a 1:2 ratio of detomidine:butorphanol in the maintenance dose (drip or injections), eg injections of 0.1ml Dormosedan/0.2ml Torbugesic for top-ups.

Absolutely critical to getting a good stable horse are:

- Positioning it carefully with all four feet square and the head upright, resting on a non-slip surface.  If the horse is leaning in any direction, left, right, forward or back it just won't stay still

- Keeping the sedation dose to a minimum and very carefully monitoring the horse (ears and eyes in particular) to anticipate the need for adjustment.

I hope this helps

Nick

Hi Jennifer,

Dan and I recently visited a number of sites in the US working on a protocol for bone screening scans for the Thoroughbred racehorse.  Considerable work has been done in the UK, particularly at the Newmarket sites, on this and clearly sedation is critical.

The UK sites all use romfidine, though generally in combination with both detomidine and butorphanol in a variety of protocols.  Because of the supply problems in the US we worked with our customers on a suitable protocol without Sedivet, and in general seemed to get best results with:

- An induction dose of 3mg detomidine + 3mg butorphanol (0.3ml Dormosedan + 0.3ml Torbugesic).  Leave for 5-10 min to take effect.  Some customers consider a premed dose of 10mg ACE beforehand, but this is rare and beware contraindications for stallions.

- A drip consisting of 40mg detomidine and 40mg butorphanol in 1l saline (or quantities reduced pro-rata for a smaller drip bag).  The drip rate is adjusted during the scan by careful observation of the horse, and will usually be 1-2 drips/sec.

- Some sites prefer repeat injections rather than a drip.  If so though the injections should be tiny eg 0.1ml Dorm/0.1 Torb, or 0.2ml Dorm/0.2 Torb.

- Some sites prefer a 1:2 ratio of detomidine:butorphanol in the maintenance dose (drip or injections), eg injections of 0.1ml Dormosedan/0.2ml Torbugesic for top-ups.

 

Absolutely critical to getting a good stable horse are:

- Positioning it carefully with all four feet square and the head upright, resting on a non-slip surface.  If the horse is leaning in any direction, left, right, forward or back it just won't stay still

- Keeping the sedation dose to a minimum and very carefully monitoring the horse (ears and eyes in particular) to anticipate the need for adjustment.

 

I hope this helps

 

Nick

 Hi Dr. Bolas~

This is good information, which many of us have learned by trial and error.  The feedback is great, I hope other users get involved.

 

Jennifer

 

 

Thanks Jennifer.  My suspicion is that some sites sedate rather more than is necessary, the best results seem to come when the horse is very lightly sedated and is largely supporting itself (legs square, head upright etc).  Of course there is a huge difference from horse to horse, and light sedation only works in a quiet undisturbed environment, so hopefully your trials (and errors !) will have come up with something that works for you.  Nick

Hi All,

Dan Brown and I have just visited the Marion duPont Scott clinic, where we worked with Carolyn and colleagues to adapt their sedation protocol to:

- initial dose of approx 3mg detomidine (0.3ml Dormosedan).  2-5mg depending on the nature and size of the horse, but less is better

- wait ten minutes (while cleaning feet, applying leg protection bandages etc)

- walk the horse round to the scan room

- open the door and see how it reacts (idea from Fairfield - thanks Traci)

- if the horse backs off, top up with another 1mg detomidine

- position the horse in the magnet

- dose with 1-2mg butorphanol (0.1 - 0.2ml Torbugesic)

- top up as necessary with 1mg detomidine, 1mg butorphanol.  Will be approx every 10-20 minutes and needs close attention to the horse

- if you get to 3 or 4 top-ups, stop the butorphanol and continue with just the detomidine

I also visited Fairfield who obtained very successful sedation with a continuous rate infusion version of something very similar - thanks Traci, Jennifer et al

Every successful clinic will find their own favourite method but hopefully this might help new users or clinics who are just starting.

Nick