Avaliação da redução do requerimento de propofol para indução anestésica após administração de acepromazina e metadona em subdose no acuponto Yin Tang em caninos da raça spitz alemão

Abstract

Acupuncture is a therapy that utilizes nociception for the stimulation of specific points, known as acupoints, with the goal of establishing neuromodulation and, consequently, a therapeutic effect. One of the acupuncture techniques, pharmacopuncture, employs subdoses of drugs with the purpose of achieving synergy between the drug's action and the acupoint stimulation effect. The present study aimed to evaluate the pharmacological action of medications administered via intramuscular route and at the Yin Tang acupoint, mainly on their influence on the dose of propofol used for anesthetic induction. For this purpose, the animals were allocated into two groups: the Intramuscular Group (IMG), which received the combination of acepromazine (0.03 mg/kg) and methadone (0.1 mg/kg) intramuscularly; and the Yin Tang Group (YTG) with the combination of acepromazine (0.03 mg/kg) and methadone (0.03 mg/kg) at the Yin Tang acupoint. The animals were evaluated at three distinct time points: before the administration of medications (M0); 15 minutes after the administration of medications (M1); and after anesthetic induction with propofol (M2). All evaluated variables remained within the reference range. The mean dose of propofol (mg/kg) was 2.07 ± 0.49 and 2.3 ± 0.84 for IMG and YTG, respectively, with no statistical difference in the doses used for anesthetic induction between the groups. Therefore, the doses of acepromazine and methadone should becarefully considered to avoid anesthetic overdose, depending on the chosen route of administration.