Evaluation of analgesic interaction between morphine, maropitant and dexmedetomidine in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

For dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy, lower doses of morphine (0.2 and 0.3 mg/kg) combined with dexmedetomidine or maropitant may provide analgesia equivalent to or better than morphine when given alone at a higher dose (0.6 mg/kg).Abbreviations: AUC: Area under curve; Cmax: Maximum concentration in plasma; CMPS-SF: Glasgow composite measure pain scale - short form; NK1: Neurokinin-1; OHE: Ovariohysterectomy; Tmax: Time to Cmax; T1/2: Half-life of terminal elimination phase; VAS: Visual analogue scale.