Pharmacokinetics of inhaled anesthetics in green iguanas (Iguana iguana)

Objective-To test the hypothesis that differences in anesthetic uptake and elimination in iguanas would counter the pharmacokinetic effects of blood:gas solubility and thus serve to minimize kinetic differences among inhaled agents. Animals-6 green iguanas (Iguana iguana). Procedures-Iguanas were anesthetized with isoflurane, sevoflurane, or desflurane in a Latin-square design. Intervals from initial administration of an anesthetic agent to specific induction events and from cessation of administration of an anesthetic agent to specific recovery events were recorded. End-expired gas concentrations were measured during anesthetic washout. Results-Significant differences were not detected for any induction or recovery events for any inhalation agent in iguanas. Washout curves best fit a 2-compartment model, but slopes for both compartments did not differ significantly among the 3 anesthetics. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Differences in blood:gas solubility for isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane did not significantly influence differences in pharmacokinetics for the inhalation agents in iguanas.