Anaesthesia in Swine Flashcards
How large is a newborn piglet and how much can an adult pig wheigh?
Piglet: 1kg
Adult: 350-400 kg (boar)
What is important to consider before anaesthesia, since the pig dont have much hair?
They have large amount of subcutanous fat, and they can therefore suffer from heat loss or overheat easily.
Name some special considerations in general with pigs
Its hard to catch them, because they are “slippery” and short ears
Pigs are loud, they scream
They are very intelligent. They can be trained, but also learn bad habits easily
The temparament is releated to age: Boars and sows w/piglets can be agressive
Name some special approaches before anaesthesia in pigs
We withheld food for 12 hrs, or even 1 day
Withhold water for piglets, but not for older pigs
Stress need to be minimized
Why do we withheld water for piglets before anaesthesia?
Because they compensate the feed with water
What is important to consider with a dark pig vs a pink pig, and in general?
Dark pig can get heatstroke, the pink pig can get sunburned.
In cold conditions they can get hypothermia
It is important to protect they eyes from dust and sunlight
Why is it important to reduce stress of a pig before anaeshesia?
Because some pigs have a disease called malignant hyperthermia, which is caused by a genetic problem – mutation problem. If they are stressed they can overheat = 42-44 degrees –> they will die
Terminology:
Relief from pain
Analgesia
Terminology:
Loss of sensation and loss of ability to feel pain
Anaesthesia
Terminology:
To calm an animal that is nervous, vicious or exited
Sedation
Terminology:
Loss of consciousness combined with decreased ability to feel pain and decreased motor response
General anaesthesia
Terminology:
Loss of sensation in a limited body area
Local anaesthesia
How many different ways to achiece general anaesthesia, name them.
Inhalational
Injections - IM or IV
IM to the neck muscle, either single or multipe injections
IV. Both single and slow drop infusion
Which vein(s) can we use for IV in pigs in single injections?
Jugular vein
V. cava cranialis
V. Auricularis (Major ear vein)
Which vein(s) can we use for IV in pigs in case of maintenance or repetition?
ONLY v. auricularis
What other types of anaesthesia can we use in pigs?
Epidural anaesthesia - we use lumbosacrals
Local anaesthesia: Intratesticular, done before castration
Which drug(s) is common to use in pigs for sedation and premedication?
Azaperone - Only drug that is licenced for pigs
Also exists:
- Acepromazine
- Benzodiazepine
- Alpha-2-agonists
What is the dosage range of Azaperone?
1-8 mg/kg
The dosage is dependent on the animal size, the surface area.
Smaller animal, more surface are and more drugs needed.
Exam question: Smaller animal=bigger dose, Bigger animal=smaller dose
Sow: 1mg/kg
Piglets: 4mg/kg
What are the side effects of azaperone?
Penile prolapse
If used in cold condition it can cause heat loss, peripheral vasodilation, cardiovasvular collapse
which drugs belong to benzodiazepine?
Diazepam, midazolam and zolazepam
How is benzodiazepin used in pigs?
Mainly used in combination.
Midazolam is better then diazepam, because midazolam is water soluble and has a better bioavailability.
They are given “intranasal” or “rectal application”
Main drug group for human epiliepsy
Name the drugs under Alpha-2-agonists, that are used in pigs
Xylazine
Detomidine
Medetomidine
Romifidin
The Alpha-2-agonists are ONLY used in combinations, because the pigs are not sensitive to them. The effect is close to 0.
In which order, from highest to lowest, will you rate the potent for xylazine in animals?
Cow –> horse –> pig
What is the “field anaesthesia” and which drugs is used for it?
It is a anaesthesia that will give a lloss of conscience for about 20-30 minutes, enough for small and basic surgery
Drugs: medetomidine, ketamine and butorphanol
In which cases would you use Alpha-2-agonists?
If the animal is stress-sensitive. We can give in
alpha-2 in combination with Azaperone
Used for to intubation, venous catheterisation or epidural
Which drug is used for induction and maintenance?
Ketamin - The go to drug
Thiopental -
Etomidate - not lisenced, but can be used (not common)
Thiopental
This drug is a barbiturate, and the only one that can be given to production animals. The drug can only be used in production animals ONCE in a lifetime, so I don’t have a huge value for production veterinarians. Barbiturates are stored in fat, and never leaves the fat again
What is the limit of practical application in case of lumbosacral epidural anaesthesia?
145 kg
What do you need and how do you perform lumbosacral epidural anaesthesia?
large needle - up to 10 cm
start the pig in standing position
Locate the patellae and draw a line to the vertebrae, then count 2-3 com backwards from this line and we have found our injection site.
Use extra local anaesthesia under the skin, the epidural is quite painful
Find the epidural space = no spinal fluid
Which drugs are used for lumbosacral epidural in swine?
Combine xylazine with lidocaine
How do you intubate a pig?
We enter with the tube facing DOWNWARDS until we hit the cartilage, turn the tube UPWARDS until we hit the cartilage and turn the tube DOWNWARDS again
Basically screw the tube inside
How can we monitore a pig under anaesthesia?
We have several physiological parameters for monitoring a pig, but they are not easy to reach.
What we can measure is the ocular position and the reflexes. Under anaesthesia the eyes are either turned inward or outward.
The colour of the mucous membrane is also a good indication of hypoxia if it is blue.
