Evaluation of anesthesia and reproductive performance upon diazepam and xylazine injection in rats

Abstract

The aims of the current study were to evaluate the effects of diazepam (D) and/or xylazine (X) on the induction of sedation and anesthesia, performing ovarian transplantation and litter size upon administration during pregnancy. One hundred and five albino rat females were classified randomly into four groups given intraperitoneal (IP) injection of physiological saline (group I), diazepam (6.2 mg /kg body weight -group II), xylazine (13.2 mg/kg/body weight -group III) and 6.2 mg/kg body weight diazepam and 13.2 mg/kg body weight xylazine (group IV). Induction of sedation and anesthesia were monitored. The onset of anesthesia, duration of surgical anesthesia and sleep time after injections was recorded. Rectal temperatures were monitored at 0, 20, 40, 60 and 120 min after injection. Blood samples were collected at 0 and 120 min post injection for determination of hemoglobin, glucose and urea concentrations. Ovarian transplantation was performed in females anesthesized with DX drugs. Mated females were injected with physiological saline, 6.2 mg/kg diazepam and/or 13.2 mg/kg xylazine at day 4, 11 and 18 of pregnancy and litter sizes were recorded. Sedation was obtained after injection of diazepam or xylazine alone whereas surgical anesthesia was obtained upon injection of both diazepam and xylazine. The onset of anesthesia, duration of anesthesia and sleep time after DX injection was 4.6, 144.1 and 79.1 min, respectively. Rectal temperature decreased (P<0.05) after injection of diazepam and/or xylazine. The hemoglobi