Xylazine, an alpha-2 agonist, may be reversed using yohimbine.
However, it is not reversed every time it is used. Xylazine (also
known by the trade name Rompun) frequently wears off quickly enough
that reversal is not needed. This would particularly be true if
used as an anesthesia pre-medication prior to propofol or
thiopental induction. If xylazine is used as the sole anesthestic
induction agent, the duration of the procedure would dictate
whether or not yohimbine would be necessary. Yohimbine can also be
used to reverse xylazine if a patient's heart rate or blood
pressure goes down while under anesthesia and a faster recovery is
desired. Combining xylazine with an anticholinergic like
glycopyrrolate would help prevent the bradycardia associated with
xylazine.