Abstract: Goats have been used as animal models in research, and the need for achieving safer
anesthesia for research or surgical intervention is gaining much attention. The objective of this study
was to evaluate intraoperative effects and the immediate postoperative analgesia of nalbuphine–
ketamine regimen in goats. Twenty clinically healthy adult female crossbred goats weighing 14  2 kg
were allocated randomly into each of two equally sized groups. All animals were sedated with
intramuscular (IM) xylazine (0.07 mg/kg), then anesthesia was intravenously (IV) induced with
ketamine alone (10 mg/kg) (XK group), or a combination of nalbuphine (0.5 mg/kg) and ketamine
(5 mg/kg) (XNK group). Following induction, left flank laparotomy was performed and then
sutured. The quality of anesthesia and immediate postoperative analgesia was evaluated. Immediate
postoperative analgesia was assessed up to 5 h after standing, using a modified Unesp–Botucatu acute
composite pain scale (USAPS). Serum cortisol, glucose, insulin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were
measured at 12, 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h, postoperatively (PO). The USAPS pain scores were significantly
lower in the XNK compared to the XK group (p < 0.05). The XNK group exhibited a statistically
significant difference in the level of serum cortisol at 12
and 1 h PO (p = 0.018 and 0.045, respectively)
compared to the XK group. At 2, 4, 6 h PO, CRP significantly decreased (p = 0.023, 0.040 and 0.005,
respectively) in the XNK compared to the XK group. Nalbuphine–ketamine produced an acceptable
induction of anesthesia and recovery compared to ketamine. Recovery with nalbuphine–ketamine
was faster and better quality. The USAPS pain scores were lower in nalbuphine–ketamine, indicating
that this novel combination produces better postoperative pain control than ketamine alone.