The effects of alfaxalone on cardiac and pulmonary vascular size in cats evaluated by thoracic radiography and echocardiography.

Alfaxalone is a neuroactive steroid that modulates the GABA receptor, which has shown recent widespread use as a sedative and anesthetic agent in cats, especially in patients being screened for cardiovascular disease. This prospective, partially blinded, randomized experimental study aimed to determine if sedation with alfaxalone would alter the appearance of the cardiac silhouette or pulmonary vasculature on thoracic radiographs or echocardiographic indices of cardiac or pulmonary vascular size. Eleven apparently healthy adult cats were recruited from a research colony.