Hypoxemia after single-shot anesthesia in common marmosets.

BACKGROUND: It remains unknown how single-shot anesthesia influences physical parameters, especially respiratory function and blood oxygen level of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) which came to be used for laboratory research.

METHODS: We measured blood oxygen levels, both before and after oxygenation, in 13 common marmosets under two single-shot anesthesia conditions: ketamine/xylazine/atropine and alphaxalone.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We found that SpO2 values decreased to about 80% in the ketamine/xylazine/atropine protocol and fell just below 90% in the alphaxalone protocol. We observed a clear decrease in PaO2 values under the anesthetized condition compared to the awake condition. Our data indicate that single-shot anesthesia may cause hypoxemia in marmosets. Previous studies on other non-human primate have reported no SpO2 decrease and hypoxemia; thus, our experiment suggests that marmosets may have a more fragile respiratory system and require intensive veterinary care during anesthesia.