J Vet Sci. 2003 Aug;4(2):187-91.
Immobilization with ketamine HCl and tiletamine-zolazepam in cynomolgus monkeys.
Lee JI, Hong SH, Lee SJ, Kim YS, Kim MC.
To compare the effects of ketamine and tiletamine-zolazepam (TZ) drugs widely used for the chemical restraint and immobilization of primates, on various physiological parameters and blood gas values in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca facicularis). Rectal temperature, heart rate, respiration rate and blood gas analysis were measured before treatment and at 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min after administration. Additionally, in both groups, induction and maintenance times were compared. Heart rate, respiration rate, rectal temperature, pH and pCO2 were not significant different in the two groups. However, pO2 in the ketamine-treated group was significantly lower at 30 and 40 min than in the TZ-treated group. The induction time was short in both groups, and the maintenance time was longer in the TZ-treated group (67.8-/+6.5 min) than in the ketamine-treated group (42.3-/+6.7 min). However, decreased rectal temperatures must be watched and prevented following TZ administration to cynomolgus monkeys. It was considered that ketamine may be useful for short duration anesthesia including handling, physical examination, blood sampling and TZ may be useful for prolonged anesthesia including minor surgery and other surgical procedure.
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J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 2001;39(4):399-402.
Abuse of telazol: an animal tranquilizer.
Quail MT, Weimersheimer P, Woolf AD, Magnani B.
BACKGROUND: Telazol (tiletamine hydrochloride 50 mg/mL, zolazepam hydrochloride 50 mg/mL) is utilized in veterinary medicine as a small-animal anesthetic. Telazol is comparable to ketamine in efficacy, and in conjunction with ketamine, has been responsible for one reported human fatality. We report a case of a woman who abused telazol. CASE REPORT: A 30-year-old female employee at a local zoo was found unresponsive by fellow workers in a clean animal treatment room. Initial reports were that she had injected veterinary-grade diazepam and telazol. On-scene paramedics reported her as obtunded and arousable to deep painful stimuli, with gag reflex intact. Systolic blood pressure was 90 mm Hg by palpation. A fresh needle puncture mark was present on her right arm; nearby were a syringe, tourniquet, and bottles of each drug. Emergency Department assessment included airway, breathing, circulation, and intravenous access. She was lavaged and given activated charcoal with a cathartic. Shortly after arrival, she became alert and oriented. Family members insisted this was not an overdose. The patient had been previously evaluated for reported episodes of syncope, "only in the evening, while at work," and was prescribed diazepam for anxiety. Product information on telazol was limited to the Veterinary Drug Physician's Desk Reference. A urine drugs-of-abuse screen was positive for benzodiazepines and cannabinoids. The patient subsequently revealed a history of recreational use of telazol. She was discharged to an in-patient detoxification facility, 12 hours postadmission. CONCLUSION: Telazol used in veterinary medicine as an anesthetic agent, is structurally related to ketamine. Telazol causes almost immediate anesthetic effects, and sudden alertness is not uncommon as the effects of the drug subside. Urine drugs-of-abuse screens are unlikely to identify telazol. We report a veterinary worker who abused telazol.
Publication Types:
* Case Reports
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J Anal Toxicol. 2000 May-Jun;24(4):305-8.
A fatality due to injection of tiletamine and zolazepam.
Chung H, Choi H, Kim E, Jin W, Lee H, Yoo Y.
A 22-year-old male with more than 28 needle marks on his right arm was found dead. First, he was suspected as a drug abuser. Blood, urine, spleen, and injection-site tissue was collected during autopsy. The blood and urine specimens were screened for drugs. Immunoassay studies did not show any illegal drugs. However, two unidentified peaks were isolated in both of these biological fluids by routine gas chromatography-flame-ionization detection (GC-FID) and thermionic specific detection. Additional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis determined these two peaks to be tiletamine and zolazepam. These two agents are used in combination as veterinary anesthesia. The concentrations of these drugs in blood were quantitated by GC-FID and found to be 0.85 mg/L of tiletamine and 3.3 mg/L of zolazepam. In urine, tiletamine and its metabolite, 2-(ethylamino)-2-(2-thionyl) cyclohexanol, were identified to be present along with zolazepam. The concentrations of tiletamine and zolazepam in spleen were revealed to be 0.92 and 3.5 mg/kg, respectively. Injection-site tissue concentrations were determined to be 25.1 mg/kg tiletamine and 23.3 mg/kg for zolazepam. The cause of death in this case was determined to be due to the multiple drug intoxication of tiletamine and zolazepam.
Publication Types:
* Case Reports
Edited by Cad0, 21 March 2006 - 10:43 AM.