Dose-related cardiovascular effects of isoflurane in chickens during controlled ventilation.

We studied cardiovascular effects of isoflurane in chickens during controlled ventilation. Following the determination of the minimal anesthetic concentration from the response to clamping of a digit, dose-related effect of isoflurane on heart rate and arterial pressure were studied. The minimal anesthetic concentration of isoflurane was 1.25 ± 0.13% (mean ± SD, n=9). There was a dose-dependent decrease in arterial pressure. The heart rate did not change significantly over a range of 1 to 2 times the minimal anesthetic concentration.