Anaesthesia 2 Flashcards
Why is monitoring and support required in anaesthesia?
- Influences the outcome
- Ethical and moral obligation
- Maintain oxygen delivery
What physiological parameters are monitored in anaesthesia?
- Oxygen delivery (affected by multiple parameters)
- CaO2 (carriage of oxygen in blood)
- Mean arterial pressure
- Respiratory function
- Cardiovascular function
What affects the carriage of oxygen in the blood?
- Saturation of Hb with oxygen
- Amount of oxygen dissolved in plasma
- Huffner’s constant (1.34)
What is Huffner’s constant?
The number of molecules of oxygen that attach to a haemoglobin molecule
How is respiratory function measured?
- Oesophageal stethoscope
- Capnograph
- Pulse oximeter
How is cardiovascular function measured?
- ECG
- Blood pressure
- Pulse
When is oxygen support delivered to a patient?
- During all anaesthetics
- Pre-induction
- In recovery
How can oxygen be delivered to a patient?
- Mask if tolerated
- Flow by: oxygen source next to nose and allowing them to breathe this
- Intranasal prongs
- Intratracheal tube attached to oxygen
- Tracheostomy
What are the limitations of pulse oximeters?
- Low or high heart rates alter results
- Alpha2 agonists lower heart rate
- Not all probes are designed for veterinary use
- Only shows early warning sign of when patient is about to become cyanotic
- Do not compensate for anaemic or hypovolaemic patients
Explain how pulse oximeters work
- Probe has transmitter and receiver of IR and red light, transilluminates pulsatile arteriolar bed
- Computer software analyses absorption of ight
- Oxyhaemoglobin absorbs more IR and reduced Hb absorbs more red light
- Ratio calculated corresponding to % haemoglobin saturated with oxygen
- Can be pulsatile due to arteriolar flow
Explain how pulseoximeters are used in monitoring anaesthesia
- SPO2% given by pulse oz
- Oxygen content = (1.39xHbxSPO2%) +(0.003xPaO2)
- Used to give early warning signs for potential cyanosis
How can oxygen content in the blood be assessed during anaesthesia?
- Blood gas analysis (pH, HCO3, PCO2, PO2), most accurate
- Capnography
- Oesophageal manometry (rare in veterinary)
Which arteries are commonly used during anaesthesia to assess pulse?
- Femoral
- Dorsal metatarsal
- Lingual
- Auricular
Describe the measurement of pulse during anaesthesia
- Compare dorsal metatarsal artery and femoral
- Femoral will beat even after death, therefore not good for monitoring subtle changes
- Dorsal metatarsal will show changes much sooner, will disappear with hypertension-
How can arterial blood pressure be monitored during anaesthesia?
- Non-invasive pressure monitoring (NIBP) e.g. sphygmomanometry, oscillometry (and HDO), Doppler
- Invasive blood pressure monitoring
- Pulse cannot be used
Outline the use of a Doppler to assess blood pressure during anaesthesia
- Piezoelectric crystal placed over artery (clipped)
- Locate artery with distinct noise of arterial pulse (whoosh)
- Cuff placed proximal to probe
- Give systolic pressure
- Tape in place, leave for length of anaesthetic
Outline the use of oscillometry to assess blood pressure during anaesthesia
- Unreliable in cats and small dogs
- Expensive
- Gives systolic, mean and diastolic pressures
- More accurate methods are available
Give examples of invasive blood pressure monitoring methods
- Artery cannulation
- Central venous pressure
Outline the use of artery cannulation to assess blood pressure during anaesthesia
- Auricular, dorsal pedal, facial arteries most commonly used
- Gives systolic, mean and diastolic arterial pressures, beat to beat wave forms of all 3 values
- Gold standard
Must label catheter, line and flush regularly - Never inject drugs
- Tubing must be narrow bore and non-compliant to amplify signal
- Difficult to place
Outline the use of central venous pressure to assess blood pressure during anaesthesia
- Long jugular catheter
- Indicates filling pressure of heart
- Affected by contractility and circulating blood volume
- Useful for fluid therapy
- Need several readings to discern trend, gives trace
- Normal: 0-10cm H2O in dog, 0-5cm H2O in cat
What is indicated by an increasing central venous pressure?
Failing heart or volume overload
What is indicated by a decreasing central venous pressure?
Haemorrhage, blood pooling, inadequate fluid therapy
How can heart rhythm be assessed during anaesthesia?
- Stethoscope
- Continuous ECG
Outline the use of a continuous ECG during anaesthesia
- Indicates trends, good for spotting changes
- Often distorted due to patient position and placement of electrodes
- Does not give heart rate, indicates electrical activity of heart, not performance
Outline the assessment of cardiac output during anaesthesia
- Flow parameter, indication of perfusion rather than pressure
- Implied when preload parameters (CVP, PA occlusion pressure, jugular vein distension, post-caval distension) are high
- ANd when afterload parameters (cardiac output, arterial blood pressure, physical and lab measures of tissue perfusion) are low or abnormal
- CO can be low with normal arterial blood pressure
- Example: lithium, measures rate of passage from venous to arterial blood system
What is included in basic anaesthetic monitoring?
- Muscle relaxation
- Neck muscle tone
- Eye rotation
- Jaw tone
- Whisker, pedal reflex
- Anal tone
- Mucus membrane colour
- Capillary refill time
- Toe-web/core temperature comparison
Describe the anaesthetic monitoring record
- Legal document
- Record exact mg od drugs given
- ASA grading
- Record as many parameters as possible
- Note any events e.g. moving from prep to theatre
- Assess recovery and analgesia
What is included in pulmonary monitoring during anaesthesia?
- Breathing rate, rhythm, nature, and effort
- Observe bag and chest excursions
- Ventilatometer or respirometer if available
- Mucus membrane colour
- Spirometry shows if ventilation is within acceptable limits
- Blood gas analysis and capnography
- respiratory flow and airway pressure, airway compliance
How is carbon dioxide monitored during anaesthesia?
- Capnometer and plotted onto a capnograph
- Blood gas analysis
Describe the 2 types of capnometer
- Mainstream: IR electrodes at junction between ET tube and breathing system
- Side stream: carbon dioxide measured in the machine
Describe the graph plotted by a capnograph
- 5 phases
- A-E
- Inspiration is phases E to A
- B is the start of expiration, sharp increase to C
- Alveolar plateau between C to D
- Sharp drop to E at beginning of inspiration
What may cause increased CO2 readings on a capnograph?
- Rebreathing
- Poor fresh gas flow
- Exhaustion of sada lime
- Too much dead space
- Too deep anaesthesia
- Hypoventilation
- Pyrexia
What may cause decreased CO2 readings on a capnograph?
- Disconnection of circuit
- MIs-intubation
- Circulatory failure
- Hypotension
- Cardiac arrest
- Hyperventilation
What may be indicated by a “shark fin” capnograph trace?
- Difficulty breathing off CO2, more effort required for expiration
- E.g. kink in ET tube, obstruction in tube, narrowing of tube
What causes cardiogenic oscillations on capnograph traces?
- Heart beating against lungs
- Normal
What is indicated by a curare cleft on a capnograph trace?
Neuromuscular blockage wearing off
Describe the appearance and cause of a “bucking ventilator” trace on a capnograph?
- Irregular insipiration and expiration
- Small peaks between normal peaks
- Suggests patient is a little too light and fighting against ventilator, taking own breaths
When are neuromuscular blocking drugs used?
- In referral practice for ocular surgery, thoracic surgery and facilitating IPPC
- Do not make the patient unconscious
What is peripheral nerve stimulation used for?
To assess neuromuscular transmission when neuromuscular blocking drugs are used
What are the different types of peripheral nerve stimulator tests that can be used?
- Train of Four (TOF)
- Double Burst Stimulation (DBS)
- Tetanic stimulus