Effects of Citicoline Sodium on corneal reflex, anesthesia and analgesia duration after thiopental sodium injection in dogs- A preliminary report

Citicoline is a natural substance with neuroprotective and repairing effects. It can also increase the phosphor metabolites in cerebral cortex. Regarding the various effects of citicoline on central nervous system, this research aims at studying the effects of citicoline on the Thiopental sodium anesthesia. Six dogs were anesthetized by intravenous injection of 20 mg / kg of 2.5% Thiopental sodium. After the appearance of recovery signs, both experimental and control groups received either 250 mg citicoline or two milliliter normal saline intravenously, immediately before the second injection of Thiopental sodium. Length of anesthesia, duration of analgesia and response to corneal reflex were measured, and statistically analyzed. Results showed a significant increase in duration of analgesia and a significant decrease in the length of negative corneal reflex in experimental group. Comparison of duration of anesthesia between the two groups showed no significant difference. These findings showed that using citicoline prior to Thiopental sodium anesthesia can improve brain function by decreasing the duration of lack of response to corneal reflex and also regarding the increasing effect of Citicoline on analgesia duration, the use of citicoline as a pre-anesthetic for Thiopental Sodium can probably be considered in the future studies.