Small Animal General Anesthesia Flashcards
the ideal anesthetic technique does what (3)
- provides analgesia
- produces unconsciousness
- maintains stability of organ systems
what are the stages of general anesthesia + what happens in-between and where do we want to be in this list?
Stage 1: analgesia or induction
** loss of consciousness **
Stage 2: excitement or delirium
** start of automatic breathing **
Stage 3: surgical anesthesia
Stage 4: overdose
** potential circulatory failure **
We want to be in Stage 3
Phase 1 is the period between __________ and ____________.
What are patients like during this phase?
Administration of anesthetic and loss of consciousness (patient can still hear and respond to stimuli but pain threshold increases)
What is the end goal of Phase 1 anesthesia
endotracheal intubation for airway protection, ventilation and maintenance delivery
what is an ideal Phase 1 scenario?
Quick and smooth loss of consciousness and good mm relaxation
what does Phase 2 of anesthesia look like?
patient unconscious but markedly excited: vomiting, pupil dilation, paddling/spastic movement, tachycardia, irregular breathing
we cannot intubate due to struggling and resistance
what is an ideal Phase 2 of anesthesia
ideally we don’t see it
with what situations is Phase 2 anesthesia more common?
- barbiturates for induction
- mask and chamber for induction
- inadequate dose of induction agents used
- poorly sedated (no premed or not enough premed)
what does Stage 3 of anesthesia look like
Patient is unconscious and good muscle relaxation; eyes ventromedially and no nystagmus
what influences the levels of depth in Phase 3 (maintenance/surgery phase)
the level of maintenance anesthetic agent being delivered (ex. dialed concentration of iso)
what are the PLANES of anesthesia and what are they determined by
light, medium, and deep
determined by the level of maintenance anesthetic agent being delivered
what does Phase 4 of anesthesia look like
overdose (too deep); severe hypoventilation or apnea; severe cardiovascular depression; will arrest if not corrected
in what patients are we more likely to see Phase 4
critical ASA 4-5 patients
what are some ways to tell whether your patient is in plane 1 vs 2 vs 3 of surgical/maintenance anesthesia
eyeball position: will be ventromedially for plane 1 and 2 and move centrally for plane 3
palpebral: present in plane 1 and gone in plane 2
pupil dilated in plane 3
breath goes from regular in plane 1 to regular and shallow in plane 2 and jerky in plane 3
why do we fast patients
to decrease the volume of stomach contents to reduce the risk of reflux, regurgitation and aspiration
In reality, is it straightforward that fasting will always reduce the gastric contents and the risk of reflux, regurg and aspiration? why?
no: influenced by many factors such as diet composition, breed and conformation, and other factors (ex. GI motility, medications)
what is the difference between regurgitation and reflux
reflux means that the gastric contents pass the lower esophageal sphincter but do not pass through the upper esophageal sphincter whereas regurgitation means the gastric contents also pass the upper esophageal sphincter to exit through the mouth or nose
why do we see reflux and regurgitation in our patients
many of the drugs we use cause mm relaxation
what is the incidence of GER and what is the incidence of regurgitation
GER: 12-78%
regurgitation: 12% (meaning we only see about 12% of the 78% of cases)
what are some consequences of GER and regurgitation
- aspiration pneumonia
- nasal and pharyngeal irritation
- ulcerative esophagitis and stricture formation
what types of small animals are most prone to strictures
exotics/small mammals and small breeds
T/F long periods of fasting are associated with increased incidence of GER
T
how long should we fast healthy small animal patients and what are the exception?
4-6h
exceptions: neonates and diabetics less (ideally on liquid or soft food); brachycephalics or past history of GER more
what are some pre-anesthetic conditions that require stabilization before anesthesia
- severe dehydration (>5%)
- anemia (PVC < 20%)
- blood loss (>10% blood volume)
- hypoproteinemia (albumin < 20g/L)
- acidosis (pH <7.1)
- hypokalemia. (<2.5 mmol/L)
- hyperkalemia (>6 mmol/L)