Swine Anesthesia and Analgesia
Formulary
Effective Date: November 2015
Note that all of these doses are approximations and must be titrated to the animal’s strain,
age, sex and individual responses. Significant departures from these doses should be
discussed with a veterinarian. Doses will also vary depending on what other drugs are being
administered concurrently.
All doses are listed as milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) unless otherwise noted.
Drug name
Dose (mg/kg)
& Route
Frequency
Notes
Inhalation anesthetics – Must use precision vaporizer. Survival surgery requires concurrent preemptive analgesia.
Recommended:
1-3% inhalant to Whenever
Mask induction is possible with
effect (up to 5% general
pre-sedated pigs. Survival
Isoflurane or
Sevoflurane
for induction).
anesthesia is surgery requires concurrent preUp to 8% for
required
emptive analgesia.
Sevoflurane
Injectable anesthetics and tranquilizers
Ketamine-Acepromazine
33 +
For sedation
Can result in large volumes
1.1 IM, SC
and pre(in same
anesthesia
syringe)
4 – 8 IM
For sedation
Note that Telazol® must be
Recommended:
or
prestored refrigerated once
Telazol® alone (a combination
anesthesia
reconstituted.
of tiletamine and zolazepam –
when reconstituted with 5 ml
sterile water, a vial contains 50
mg/ml of each drug. Dose listed
is based on 100mg/ml of
combined active ingredients)
Midazolam
0.1 – 0.5 IM or
May be used
Usually only used for minor
SC
for sedation
procedures to provide mild
when needed sedation in conjunction with
at frequent
Isoflurane
intervals
Opioid analgesia –
0.01 – 0.05 SC Used preFor major procedures, require
Recommended:
operatively for more frequent dosing than 12
Buprenorphine
preemptive
hour intervals. Consider multianalgesia and modal analgesia with a NSAID
Sustained Release
Buprenorphine
0.1 – 0.5 SC
Recommended:
Carprofen
2 – 4 SC or PO
postoperatively
every 6-12
hour
Used for long
term
analgesia.
Approx.72
hour duration
and a local anesthetic
For major procedures, requiring
more frequent dosing than 12
hour intervals. Consider multimodal analgesia with a NSAID
and local
Used preDepending on the procedure,
operatively for may be used as sole analgesic,
preemptive
or as multi-modal analgesia with
analgesia and buprenorphine.
postoperatively
every 24 hour
for up to 4
days.
Local anesthetic/analgesics (lidocaine and bupivacaine may be combined in one syringe or used
separately)
Lidocaine hydrochloride
4 mg/kg
Use locally
Faster onset than bupivacaine
Dilute to 0.5 before making but short (<1 hour) duration of
1% (=10mg/ml). surgical
action
May be mixed
incision or as
in same syringe “splash block”
with
at closure
bupivacaine.
SC or intraincisional
Bupivacaine
Dilute to 0.25 – Use locally
Slower onset than lidocaine but
0.5%, May be
before making longer (~ 4-8 hour) duration of
mixed in same
surgical
action
syringe with
incision or as
lidocaine.
“splash block”
SC or intraat closure
incisional