Hematologic and serum biochemical values in aged female bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) anesthetized with ketamine hydrochloride.

We investigated the effect of ketamine hydrochloride anesthesia on hematologic and serum biochemical values in 10 aged female bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata) before and 120 min after intramuscular administration of ketamine hydrochloride (15 mg/kg body weight). Ketamine anesthesia caused significant reduction in the total leukocyte count, lymphocyte count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume, and serum concentrations of glucose, total protein, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, sodium, and potassium. Although the effects of ketamine hydrochloride on hematologic and serum biochemical values have been reported for most of the nonhuman primates, no literature on bonnet macaques is available. These findings will be useful in designing experiments assessing pathologic and toxicologic changes in blood and serum parameters and interpreting data obtained from aged bonnet monkeys.