Induction of general anaesthesia with intraosseous injection of thiopental in rabbits

The technique of intraosseous [IO] infusion has been reemerged as an alternative route of intravascular access for the delivery of fluids and some medications. Complications of IO infusion occur rarely and include fractures and osteomyelitis after long-term use of IO access. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency of induction of anaesthesia by a standard intravenous route and an intraosseous route. Ten healthy rabbits were assigned to one of two treatments: thiopental 20 mg/kg administered intravenously via marginal vein of ear and thiopental 20 mg/kg administered intraosseously into the bone marrow of proximal tibia. In each rabbit, the heart and respiratory rates and palpebral, corneal, pinch and withdrawal reflexes were recorded before and every 2 min, for 34 min after induction of anaesthesia. Neither the clinical parameters nor the reflexes showed any significant difference [P>0.05] between the treatment groups. In addition, no adverse reaction was seen in rabbits anaesthetized by intraosseous access. The results of this study showed that the intraosseous injection of thiopental is a rapid, simple, safe and effective alternative option for induction of general anaesthesia in rabbits

experimental study on surgical wound contamination from distant infective source in rabbits

Surgical wound infections are usually encountered due to the endogenous rather than the exogenous infective sources. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a distant inoculated infective source on the contamination of surgical wounds. Thirty White New Zealand rabbits divided randomly into three control and three treatment equal groups. In treatment groups 24 hrs before surgical intervention staphylococcus aureus was injected subcutaneously in right thigh. In model animals, skin and muscles were incised 1 cm to the right of the vertebral column and sutured, immediately. The relative frequency of staphylococcal contamination of tissue specimens at 24 and 48 hrs after surgery in treatment groups were 20% and 60%, respectively. Statistical analysis did not show any significant differences in the rate of contamination between control and treatment groups at aforementioned times [P > 0.05]. However, comparison at 72 hrs after surgery, showed that the rate of contamination in treatment group is significantly more than control ones [P = 0.004]. The presence of S. aureus in wounds of treatment animals at 72 hrs after surgery, suggested that microorganisms lodged in any part of body other than wound region could contaminate it, which could be important in wound healing

Effects of oral iron supplementation on haematocrit, live weight gain and health in neonatal dairy calves

Forty neonate calves were used in this study. The animals were divided into two treatment [n 20] and control [n = 20] groups. In the treatment group, oral iron as ferrous sulphate was supplemented to each calf at the dose of 150 mg/day for 28 days, from the birthday. Blood sampling was taken from jugular vein immediately after birth and on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 after birth. Significant differences in haematocrit [PCV] levels were found between two groups on days 14, 21 and 28 [P < 0.05]. Total gain, mean daily gain and weight gain during 4th week of life was significantly higher in the treatment group than control group [P