Alfaxan Multidose is versatile, suitable for all types of patient, including prior to canine c-sections⁶,7,14 and can be used for both induction and maintenance in dogs and cats. It is also licensed for induction of anaesthesia in pet rabbits³0.

Alfaxan Multidose provides all of the benefits of the original Alfaxan formulation but with the additional benefit of convenience. Alfaxan Multidose has a 28 day broached vial shelf life and comes in both 10 ml and 20 ml vial sizes for ultimate flexibility.

Acute overdose studies have shown that  animals who were administered multiples of the recommended induction dose of Alfaxan multidose recovered with no residual adverse effects.¹⁸,19

Alfaxan Multidose provides you with confidence in situations where your patient requires repeated general anaesthetics within a short time period.²⁵

A repeated overdose study in dogs and cats anaesthetised animals with 5x the recommended induction dose of Alfaxan multidose, 3 times over 5 days and showed minimal adverse effects.²⁵

This is a strong advantage over some other classes of induction agent where repeated anaesthetics can cause adverse effects, particularly for cats.

Alfaxan multidose results in minimal disruption to cardiorespiratory parameters^18,19, and is less likely to cause apnoea than other agents.^4,13

One study showed that apnoea was seen following only a 2.5x overdose of propofol, whilst a 5x overdose of Alfaxan multidose was required to cause the same level of apnoea.

Alfaxalone is rapidly and completely metabolised⁹ so that animals experience a smooth and rapid recovery, appear clear-headed and display normal behaviour shortly after recovery.¹⁰

Alfaxalone is a type of neurosteroid which has a similar molecular structure to progesterone (although does not act at the same receptors) and as a result alfaxalone is rapidly and predictably eliminated along established metabolic pathways.

Recovery remains the highest risk phase of anaesthesia, therefore you don’t want your induction agent to still be acting during your patient’s recovery as this could cause complications and highlights the important benefit of this rapid, predictable metabolism.

Remember the importance of using good premedication and carefully maintaining body temperature to ensure the best possible recovery.

With Alfaxan Multidose you are likely to see:

General anaesthesia is a common procedure in veterinary practice, however, it should never be considered entirely without risk. It can be a stressful process both for patients and for your veterinary team. Anaesthesia doesn’t have to be stressful and we should aim to ensure that the anaesthetic experience for patients is as positive as possible. This can be achieved by using a reliable, predictable anaesthetic agent such as Alfaxan Multidose and using protocols that you are confident with and suit the needs of each individual patient.

Although uncommon, death is an anaesthetic risk. The level of risk varies according to species, procedure and health status prior to anaesthesia³. The risk is lower in humans than in veterinary species which may be due to differences in many aspects including staff training and monitoring levels.

In our common small animal species the anaesthetic risk is highest in rabbits, especially in sick rabbits³. Is this because that there are only a few licensed medications to treat rabbits? Or is it that we are generally less familiar with this species than with dogs and cats? Or is our monitoring different or are there other reasons?

It is advised that all patients, including rabbits, have an IV catheter placed prior to anaesthesia and an airway maintained throughout. The AVA have produced guidelines to support safer anaesthesia and these are available on the Dechra website

At Dechra we are passionate about anaesthesia and pain management and are working hard to reduce the risk of anaesthesia to our veterinary patients and develop the anaesthetic confidence of veterinary professionals. All of our anaesthesia products, including Alfaxan Multidose, are supported by the Dechra technical team. We provide both product support and education via the Dechra Academy which is free to use.

Alfaxan Multidose provides additional benefits thanks to the addition of a preservative system. This preservative system includes; chlorocresol, benzethonium chloride and ethanol (NOT benzyl alcohol) which allows a 28 day broached vial shelf-life, giving you all of the benefits of Alfaxan with the added convenience of a multi-dose formulation. All of the components of the preservative system are used extensively in both human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and are well known.  Alfaxan Multidose has a low available concentration of chlorocresol – most is hidden inside the cyclodextrin rings with the alfaxalone molecule and the pH of the solution remains near neutral.

There is also additional flexibility provided through two different vial sizes; 10 ml and 20 ml allowing you to choose the best fit for your clinic.

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