Failure of droperidol and ketamine to influence cerebrospinal fluid production in the dog.

Using the ventriculo-cisternal perfusion method, the effects of droperidol and ketamine hydrochloride on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production were studied in dogs. Neither droperidol (0.25 mg/kg, IV) nor ketamine (3 mg/kg, IV) caused a statistically significant change in CSF production rate. Positive correlation between CSF production and corresponding cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) was observed in the ketamine study, whose unfavorable effect on neurosurgical anaesthesia would be obvious. On the other hand droperidol (0.25 mg/kg, IV) tended to decrease CSF production. Droperidol alone or in combination with other analgesics such as fentanyl as currently used in neurosurgical anaesthesia appears to be an appropriate choice in patients with increased intracranial pressure.