# Preanesthetic Administration of Trazodone Does Not Impact Anesthetic Recovery Scores in Horses

## TL;DR

This study found that giving trazodone before anesthesia in horses does not affect their recovery scores or time.

## Contribution

The study provides new evidence that trazodone does not negatively impact equine anesthetic recovery.

## Key findings

- Trazodone administration did not significantly affect recovery scores in horses.
- There was no difference in recovery time between horses that received trazodone and those that did not.
- Trazodone did not influence the need for sedation or reversal agents during recovery.

## Abstract

Trazodone is commonly administered to hospitalized equine patients to manage unwanted behaviors. Trazodone has been reported to cause decreased muscle coordination, which could impact a horse’s ability to stand after an anesthetic event, with the anesthetic recovery period posing a high risk to equine patients. Records of horses undergoing anesthesia were evaluated to determine if trazodone administration prior to anesthesia impacted the recovery process. The results of this retrospective study demonstrate that trazodone did not negatively impact the recovery period, and as such, may be administered prior to anesthesia.

Trazodone is administered to hospitalized equine patients to aid in behavioral management, but the effects on the anesthetic recovery period have not been investigated. This study sought to determine if there is an association between trazodone administration and recovery quality, recovery time, need for sedation, or need for reversal agent administration. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in recovery scores, recovery time, additional sedation, or reversal agent administration between horses that received preanesthetic trazodone and horses that did not. Records were reviewed to identify horses undergoing orthopedic MRI between January 2022 and January 2025. Of these horses, 19 were administered trazodone prior to anesthesia and 38 horses that did not receive trazodone were selected as case-matched controls. Signalment, anesthetic drug protocol, complications during anesthesia, duration of anesthesia, duration of recovery, recovery scores, recovery complications, sedation agents, and reversal agents administered during recovery were recorded. Trazodone administration was not associated with a significant difference in recovery scores between groups. Trazodone administration was not associated with a difference in recovery time or differences in sedation and reversal agent administration. Trazodone administration prior to anesthesia in horses undergoing orthopedic MRI did not impact the recovery period.