The effect of romifidine on endoscopic grading of laryngeal function in horses.

Standard romifidine dose (0.04 mg/kg IV) does not significantly affect endoscopic laryngeal grading in horses.

This study investigated whether romifidine sedation affects the endoscopic grading of laryngeal function in horses. Ten horses underwent three laryngeal endoscopic examinations: unsedated (R1), after initial romifidine dose of 0.04 mg/kg IV (R2), and after additional romifidine dose totaling 0.08 mg/kg IV (R3). Three blinded reviewers graded laryngeal function from randomized recordings, and cross-sectional area of the rima glottis (CSARG) was measured during peak inspiration. Results showed that initial sedation (0.04 mg/kg) produced no significant changes in laryngeal function grading or CSARG compared to unsedated examination. However, the higher cumulative dose (0.08 mg/kg total) significantly reduced CSARG compared to both unsedated and initial sedation groups. The authors acknowledge that the small sample size may have limited statistical power for their analyses. The findings suggest that standard romifidine doses of 0.04 mg/kg do not meaningfully alter laryngeal function assessment in horses, though higher doses warrant further investigation.

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