EFFECTS OF TOTAL INTRAVENOUS ANESTHESIA ON HEMATOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY VALUES DURING HEALT CHEK IN BROWN BEARS (URSUS ARCTOS)

The present study was conducted to define the physiological responses of captive brown bears (Ursus arctos) immobilized by standardized total intravenous anesthesia protocol (TIVA), during routine health check. Hematology and biochemistry parameters (WBC, Lymph, Mon, Gran, Lymph%, Mon% Gran% RBC, HGB, HCT, PLT, ALT, AST, ALP, GLU, TP, ALB, UREA, CREAT, GLB) were evaluated in nine brown bears, anesthetized with total intravenous anesthesia protocol for ninety minutes during the health check. The animals were kept in the „Park for Dancing Bears“ Belitza, Bulgaria. A standardized premedication protocol of tiletamine HCl and zolazepam HCl (Zoletil 100® Virbac, France) at 1 mg/kg, medetomidine HCl at 0.003 mg/kg (3mcg/kg) and butorphanol tartrate at 0.05 mg/kg (50mcg/kg) administered intramuscularly. Anesthesia was induced intravenously with a combined bolus of ketamine at 2 mg/kg and propofol at 2 mg/kg, and maintained with a constant rate infusion (CRI) of ketamine at 0.8 mg/kg/h and propofol 0.04 at mg/kg/min. Overall results compared to baseline levels did not present statistically significant changes, to the exception of PLT, GLU, and CREAT. In conclusion, the research anesthetic protocol is an inexpensive and relatively safe method for various manipulations and procedures in the brown bear.