General anesthesia for ovariectomy in dogs is based on a balanced anesthesia protocol such as using analgesics along with an inhalant agent. While opioids such as fentanyl and methadone are commonly used for their analgesic potency, other drugs can also have analgesic effects. Maropitant, an antiemetic for dogs and cats, has also been shown to exert analgesic effects, especially on visceral pain. The aim of this study was to compare the cardiorespiratory effects and analgesic properties of maropitant and methadone combined with desflurane in dogs undergoing ovariectomy. Two groups of 20 healthy mixed-breeds bitches undergoing elective ovariectomy received intravenous either maropitant at antiemetic dose of 1 mg kg⁻¹ or methadone at the dose of 0.3 mg kg⁻¹. Cardiorespiratory variables were collected before premedication, 10 min after sedation and during surgery. Recovery quality and postoperative pain were evaluated 15, 30, 60, 120, 240 and 360 min postoperatively. Results showed that maropitant produced analgesia and reduced the requirement of desflurane in amounts similar to those determined by methadone (5.39 ± 0.20% and 4.91 ± 0.26%, respectively) without significant difference, while maintaining heart rate, arterial blood pressure, respiratory rate and carbon dioxide end-tidal partial pressure even at a more satisfactory level. Therefore, maropitant may be recommended as an analgesic drug for abdominal surgery not only in healthy dogs but also in those with reduced cardiorespiratory compensatory capacities or at risk of hypotension, especially when combined with a sedative such as dexmedetomidine.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a medetomidine–vatinoxan combination versus medetomidine alone on heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in a short-term surgery in dogs. Four groups of 10 dogs were administered as follows: medetomidine and sevoflurane; medetomidine and desflurane; medetomidine–vatinoxan and sevoflurane; and medetomidine–vatinoxan and desflurane. After administration, the increase in MAP soon stopped at 102–104 mmHg in the two groups administered medetomidine–vatinoxan, compared with significantly higher values of 143–126 mmHg achieved in the two groups administered medetomidine alone. The lowest MAPs in the two medetomidine–vatinoxan groups were 46–50 mmHg, while in the medetomidine groups, they were 58–79 mmHg. From 3 min onwards after administration, in the medetomidine–vatinoxan treatments, HR remained at values very close to those of pre-administration, between 83 and 118 beats min⁻¹, while in the medetomidine treatments, it dropped to 36–43 beats min⁻¹ and then slowly rose to reach 71–90 beats min⁻¹. These results encourage the use of vatinoxan in clinical settings, particularly in anesthetic protocols for dogs when bradycardia and an increase in systemic pressure should be avoided. Further clinical studies are needed to manage the short periods of hypotension, as well as the slight reduction in sedative and pain-relieving medetomidine effects found, particularly when vatinoxan is in combination with desflurane rather than sevoflurane.

Partendo dal concetto di povertà urbana nelle città, il lavoro vuole analizzare la povertà urbana emersa nel Comune di Roma durante l'emergenza sanitaria. Nella prima parte è analizzata la povertà urbana in riferimento ai dati disponi-bili, prima e dopo la pandemia. Nella seconda sono esaminati il welfare italiano, le iniziative pubbliche e private intraprese, per fronteggiare le problematiche econo-miche e sociali causate dall'emergenza sanitaria, e le possibili politiche di welfare post-pandemiche.