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PAPERS
Effects of intramuscular acepromazine
and diazepam on tear production
in rabbits
M. Selk Ghaffari, A. P. Moghaddassi, S. Bokaie

Sixteen New Zealand white rabbits were divided
randomly into two groups of eight. Schirmer II tear
tests were performed on all 16 and then eight received
an intramuscular dose of 1 mg/kg acepromazine and
the other eight received an intramuscular dose of
1 mg/kg diazepam. The Schirmer tests were repeated
after 15 and 25 minutes. There was a significant
reduction in tear production by the rabbits treated
with acepromazine, but no significant change in tear
production by the rabbits treated with diazepam.
IN recent years, rabbits have become increasingly important as pets
and laboratory animals, and the number of reports of corneal disease
has risen steadily (Abrams and others 1990). Tears provide nutrients,
oxygen and leucocytes to the avascular cornea and are critical to its
production and maintenance. Inadequate tear production can result in
conjunctivitis, superficial keratitis or corneal ulceration, and impair the
healing of an ulcerated cornea (Brooks and others 2000). Historically,
the Schirmer tear test has been the diagnostic test used to diagnose kera-
toconjunctivitis sicca. The test has been divided into the Schirmer I,
performed without the eye being anaesthetised, and the Schirmer II,
performed with the eye anaesthetised (Gelatt 2000a, b). Anaesthetic
and preanaesthetic agents are believed to cause a reduction in tear
production (Slatter 2001). Examination of the eyes of small animals
may sometimes be difficult owing to their resistance; sedation or tran-
quillisation has the potential to decrease the stress associated with the
examination, increase efficiency and improve safety for both the animal
and its examiner. In this study, the effects of intramuscular doses of
ation. They were divided randomly into two groups of eight, and their
rates of tear production were measured by the Schirmer II tear test. A
topical anaesthetic was administered by instilling one drop of 0·5 per
cent proparacaine ophthalmic solution into each conjunctival sac, and
a second drop was instilled 30 seconds later. The conjunctival sac was
then dried gently by placing a sterile cotton-tipped applicator in the
bulbar and palpebral conjunctival fornices, and the Schirmer tear test
was performed by inserting a standard sterile Schirmer tear test strip
(Ophtechnics) into the ventral conjunctival fornix for 60 seconds. The
pretreatment tear values were recorded in both groups, and then the
rabbits in one group received 1 mg/kg acepromazine, and the rabbits in
the other group received 1 mg/kg diazepam, both administered intramus-
cularly. The tear values were measured in both groups 15 and 25 minutes
after the administration of the sedative and are reported as the length of
strip (mm) wetted in one minute.
The results were analysed by using the software package SPSS 12.0
for Windows. The data are reported as the mean (se) of the results for
each group, in which each eye of each rabbit was treated as a replicate.
An independent samples t test was used to determine whether there
were pretreatment differences between the groups, and the changes after
the treatment in each group were evaluated by using a paired t test.
P<0·05 was considered statistically significant.
(a)
7·00
6·00
5·00
4·00
STT values (mm/minute)

3·00
acepromazine and diazepam on tear production in rabbits was evaluated
2·00
by using the Schirmer II tear test.
(b)
Materials and methods 7·00
Sixteen New Zealand white rabbits, weighing approximately 2·5 kg 6·00
each, were used. They were judged to be free of clinically relevant ocu-
lar abnormalities on the basis of an indirect ophthalmoscopy examin- 5·00

4·00

3·00

Veterinary Record (2009) 164, 147-148 2·00

M. Selk Ghaffari, DVM, PhD,
A. P. Moghaddassi, DVM,
Department of Clinical Studies,
School of Veterinary Medicine,
Islamic Azad University – Karaj
Branch, Karaj, Iran
S. Bokaie, DVM, PhD,
Department of Epidemiology, School
of Veterinary Medicine, University of
Tehran, Tehran, Iran
E-mail for correspondence:
selkghaffari@gmail.com
0 15 25
Time (minutes)
FIG 1: Mean (se) Schirmer tear test (STT) values (mm/minute)
of groups of eight rabbits before and 15 and 25 minutes after the
intramuscular administration of (a) 1 mg/kg acepromazine or
(b) 1 mg/kg diazepam

January 31, 2009 | the VETERINARY RECORD

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PAPERS

The mode of action of acepromazine in decreasing lacrimation in

TABLE 1: Mean (se) and range of the rates of tear production
measured by the Schirmer II tear test (mm/minute) in two groups of rabbits is unclear. In a study by Dodam and others (1998), the intramus-
rabbits before (T0) and 15 (T15) and 25 (T25) minutes after they were cular injection of sedatives such as acepromazine, xylazine and diazepam
treated with intramuscular acepromazine or diazepam was found to decrease the rate of tear production in dogs. It was sug-
Treatment Time Mean Range gested that the reduction was caused by one or more of the following
mechanisms: central effects of the drugs on the autonomic regulation
Acepromazine T0 5·09 (0·54) 2·00-7·00 of tear production, effective antinociception, vasoconstruction at the
T15 3·36 (0·64)* 1·35-6·00
T25 3·33 (0·65)* 1·00-6·50
tear gland, and changes in the metabolism of the gland at the cellular
Diazepam T0 6·16 (0·52) 4·25-8·00 level. Another possible explanation is that the cardiovascular effects of
T15 6·13 (0·47) 4·25-7·75 acepromazine may affect tear production. Acepromazine is a neuroleptic
T25 6·03 (0·50) 4·00-7·50 agent, commonly used in veterinary medicine to tranquillise animals
* Significantly different from T0 (P<0·01) before they are anaesthetised and to prevent drug-induced arrhythmias.
The primary mechanism of acepromazine is postsynaptic inhibition of
central dopamine receptors, causing depression of the respiratory rate,
heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature (Muir and Hubbell
Results 1989).
The mean rates of tear production in the two groups are summarised The authors recommend that clinicians should use diazepam rather
in Table 1 and Fig 1. There were significant decreases in the Schirmer than acepromazine if sedating rabbits when assessing tear production,
tear test values of the rabbits treated with acepromazine, but no signifi- because acepromazine decreases tear production.
cant changes were observed in the rabbits treated with diazepam. There
was no significant difference between the pretreatment mean values of References
the two groups, but there were significant differences between the two ABRAMS, K. L., BROOKS, D. E., FUNK, R. S. & THERAN, P. (1990) Evaluation of the
groups after 15 minutes (P=0·004) and 25 minutes (P=0·005). Schirmer tear test in clinically normal rabbits. American Journal of Veterinary Research 51,
1912-1913
BROOKS, D. E., CLARK, C. K. & LESTER, G. D. (2000) Cochet-Bonnet aesthesiometer-
Discussion
determined corneal sensitivity in neonatal foals and adult horses. Veterinary Ophthalmology
Acepromazine is a sedative that potentiates the effects of other anaes- 3, 133-137
thetic agents in rabbits and facilitates a smooth recovery; it can there- DODAM, J. R., BRANSON, K. R. & MARTIN, D. D. (1998) Effects of intramuscular
fore be used for premedication before induction with volatile agents. sedative and opioid combinations on tear production in dogs. Veterinary Ophthalmology
Diazepam is also an effective sedative in rabbits; it produces good mus- 1, 57-69
cle relaxation and potentiates the effects of anaesthetics and narcotic GELATT, K. N. (2000a) Ophthalmic examination and diagnostic procedures. In Essentials
of Veterinary Ophthalmology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp 1-26
analgesics (Harcourt-Brown 2002). Abrams and others (1990) described
GELATT, K. N. (2000b) Diseases and surgery of the canine tear and nasolacrimal systems. In
the use of the Schirmer tear test without topical anaesthesia in rab- Essentials of Veterinary Ophthalmology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp 73-94
bits to evaluate the increased rates of tear production associated with HARCOURT-BROWN, F. (2002) Anaesthesia and analgesia. In Textbook of Rabbit
ocular irritation, rather than the decreased rates associated with kerato- Medicine. Butterworth Heinemann. p 121-139
conjunctivitis sicca. The normal reference range reported for rabbits is HOLMBERG, B. J. (2008) Ophthalmology of exotic pets. In Slatter’s Fundamentals of
5 ± 3 mm/minute (Holmberg 2008). In the present study, treating the Veterinary Ophthalmology. 4th edn. Eds D. J. Maggs, P. E. Miller, R. Ofri. W. B. Saunders.
p 427-438
rabbits intramuscularly with acepromazine decreased their Schirmer tear
MUIR, W. W. & HUBBELL, J. A. (1989) Drugs used for preanesthetic medication. In
test measurements by 34 per cent after 15 and 25 minutes, a statistically Handbook of Veterinary Anesthesia. 1st edn. Ed R. W. Reinhardt. Mosby. pp 15-28
significant reduction, but there was no significant change after the rab- SLATTER, D. (2001) Lacrimal system. In Fundamentals in Veterinary Ophthalmology. 3rd
bits were treated with diazepam. edn. W. B. Saunders. pp 237-259

the VETERINARY RECORD | January 31, 2009

 Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 8, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com

Effects of intramuscular acepromazine and

diazepam on tear production in rabbits
M. Selk Ghaffari, A. P. Moghaddassi and S. Bokaie

Veterinary Record 2009 164: 147-148

doi: 10.1136/vr.164.5.147

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