Effect of muscle injection site and drug temperature on pre-anaesthetic sedation in pigs

The responses of 83 Meishan gilts given azaperone (1.0 mg/kg) and ketamine (5 mg/kg) intramuscularly at one of four sites: the cervical muscles (20); the triceps muscle (m triceps brachii) (20); the middle gluteal muscle (nz gluteus medius) (22); and the fascia lata muscle (m fascia lata) (21) mere recorded. There were more reactions to the injection into the fascia lata muscle than to injections into the middle gluteal muscle and the triceps muscle (P=0.024) and fewest after injections into the cervical muscles (P=0.013). The injection site did not influence the time from injection to recumbency but there was least variability with the fascia lata muscle. The degree of sedation achieved, and the response to venous cannulation mere similar in all four groups. There mere no long-term complications (lameness or abscess formation) associated with the injections at any of the sites, In a second study with 65 pigs the same drug mixture was injected into the triceps muscle at either 6 to 8 degrees C (23), 19 to 22 degrees C (23) or 38.5 to 40.5 degrees C (22), There was no significant difference (P=0.078) between the numbers of responses to the injections at each temperature. Mean time to recumbency was shortest with the injections at the highest temperature although the differences were not statistically significant (P=0 498). The degree of sedation achieved, the response to venous cannulation and the incidence of complications mere similar in all three groups.