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Published on: January 31, 2022
Acute changes in serum iron concentrations in anesthetized healthy horses
Monica Midon1, Stuart C Clark-Price1, Hui-Chu Lin1
1Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
Objective:
To determine if serum iron concentrations decrease acutely during and after general anesthesia in healthy horses.
Study Design:
Prospective experimental study.
Animals:
A convenience sample of 24 healthy adult horses (eight females, 16 geldings), weighing 545 ± 33 kg (mean ± standard deviation).
Methods:
Horses were anesthetized for 120 minutes with isoflurane, after premedication with intravenous (IV) xylazine (0.8 mg kg-1) and induction with IV midazolam (0.1 mg kg-1) and ketamine (2.2 mg kg-1). Blood samples for serum iron analysis were obtained just before premedication (baseline), after 60 minutes of anesthesia (T60), after 120 minutes of anesthesia (T120), immediately after recovery (TREC) and 24 hours after induction (T24). Serum iron values are reported as mean ± standard deviation.
Results:
Serum iron concentration was 152 ± 29 μg dL-1 at baseline, with reductions at other time points: 136 ± 25 μg dL-1 at T60, 133 ± 26 μg dL-1 at T120, 136 ± 26 μg dL-1 at TREC and 63 ± 19 μg dL-1 at T24.
Conclusions And Clinical Relevance:
Serum iron concentrations acutely decrease in healthy horses during and after general anesthesia for at least 24 hours. General anesthesia may interfere with the use of serum iron for detecting and monitoring systemic disease and inflammation in horses.
