Aged mice show an increased mortality after anesthesia with a standard dose of ketamine/xylazine.

Geriatric animal models are crucial for a better understanding and an improved therapy of age-related diseases. We observed a high mortality of aged mice after anesthesia with a standard dose of ketamine/xylazine, an anesthetic regimen frequently used in laboratory veterinary medicine. C57BL/6-N mice at the age of 2.