Abstract
Hyperthermia is a common, serious issue when capturing wildlife and has the potential to cause irreversible damage and death if severe, especially among cervids. During a disease surveillance program in white-tailed deer, 72 animals were chemically immobilized for sample collection. Most of the deer became hyperthermic (body temperatures >2°C above physiological norm) and of those, three became severely hyperthermic (>4.2+°C above physiological norm). Since the deer were sedated for regulatory purposes, reversal of the immobilant was not an option to restore natural thermoregulation. Rather, flunixin meglumine was administered to each animal in conjunction with cold water enemas and/or copious external application of water. Body temperatures rapidly cooled and stabilized within normal physiological ranges after the treatment. Once the samples were collected, each deer was returned to their pens and given the immobilizing agents’ antidotes. All deer survived and appeared healthy 30 days post-capture indicating the protocol used for hyperthermia treatment was effective.
Highlights
Hyperthermia is a major concern when capturing and immobilizing wildlife because of the potential neurological effects and associated morbidity and mortality
A study in dairy cattle conducted by Soto et al [15] indicated that inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis with flunixin meglumine did not reduce body temperatures
Little is known about the exact physiological pathways in which flunixin meglumine reduces body temperatures, but anecdotal evidence supports its use in treating hyperthermia and increasing survival
Summary
Hyperthermia is a major concern when capturing and immobilizing wildlife because of the potential neurological effects and associated morbidity and mortality. Factors frequently cited as contributors to hyperthermia when capturing wildlife include, but are not limited to: Drug combination-certain immobilizing drugs can inhibit or alter thermoregulation and cause respiratory depression, which increases the potential for hypoxia and exacerbates thermoregulation issues in animals that rely on panting as ungulates do [4]. These drugs include potent opioids such as fentanyl, thiafentanil, sufentanil, and etorphine and alpha-2 agonists such as xylazine and medetomidine [4,6,7]. It is reasonable to assume that any detrimental effects of the capture event would have occurred within 30 days and that any morbidity or mortality thereafter was most likely unrelated
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