The purpose of this study was to examine global and regional hemodynamic changes during induction of anesthesia with eltanolone, a new short-acting steroid hypnotic, as compared to propofol, in chronically instrumented dogs. The effects on cardiac performance were assessed in six animals. Renal and hepatic blood flows were examined in a separate study including five animals. Two doses of each drug were investigated: eltanolone 2.5 and 5 mg/kg and propofol 7.5 and 15 mg/kg. Left atrial filling pressures and cardiac output were not affected by either drug. Maximum rate of increase of left ventricular pressures decreased both with eltanolone (-28% and -40% from awake control for the 2.5 and 5 mg/kg doses, respectively) and with propofol (-19% and -30% from awake controls with 7.5 and 15 mg/kg respectively). In contrast to propofol, eltanolone preserved arterial blood pressure. Propofol lowered systemic vascular resistance (-21% and -39% with the low and high dose, respectively), and only slightly decreased left ventricular wall thickening fraction (-16% and -21%). Eltanolone did not affect systemic vascular resistance but reduced the wall-thickening fraction dose-dependently (-28% and -61%). Propofol, but not eltanolone, induced moderate coronary vasodilation. Hepatic arterial blood flow velocity decreased dose-dependently (-21% and -64%) during eltanolone anesthesia whereas, in contrast, it increased after propofol (+59% and +64%). Renal and portal venous blood flows remained essentially unaltered from awake conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)