Chapter 3: Anesthesia Management and Care for Small Animals 2 CE Hours
Expiration Date : May 27, 2029 Course overview
tailored for small animal patients. The course also explores the principles and practical applications of local and regional anesthesia for pain management and in small animal procedures. By the end of this course, veterinarians will be equipped with the advanced knowledge to manage anesthetic care safely and effectively for small animals.
This course is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of veterinarians in small animal anesthesia. Important topics will be explored including anesthetic drug pharmacology, their effects, contraindications, and potential adverse reactions. The course will also provide a comprehensive understanding of pre-operative medication, induction, maintenance, and pain management techniques specifically Learning objectives After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Recognize the pharmacological properties of commonly used anesthetic drugs in small animals. Recall the pharmacological effects and physiological responses associated with each drug class. Identify contraindications and potential adverse effects of commonly used anesthetic drugs.
Identify pre-operative medications, induction agents, inhalation agents, and pain medications for small animal anesthesia. Explain the principles and applications of local and regional nerve blocks in small animal procedures.
PRE-ANESTHETIC MEDICATION
1. Alpha-2 adrenergic agonists: This class of anesthetic drugs primarily target the central nervous system (CNS) and also have some known effects in other major body organs. Mechanism of action Binds with the membranes of the α 2-adrenoreceptors, preventing further release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, causing sedation. At low doses, selective α 2-adrenoreceptors can be used as adjunct to injectable and inhalational anesthetic drugs. This can significantly reduce the quantity of anesthetics required to induce and maintain anesthesia. It is important to note that increasing the dose of alpha 2 agonists does not increase the depth of sedation, but rather prolongs the duration of sedation. (Lee, 2024)
Pre-anesthetic medication serves several purposes, with its primary goals being stress reduction and pain relief. Ideal properties of pre-anesthetic drugs: ● Soothe the animal and alleviate stress and anxiety ● Prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting ● Reduce the dosage of both induction and maintenance drugs ● Enhance the quality of induction and recovery ● Provide pre-emptive and multi-modal analgesia Appropriate pre-operative analgesia minimizes the need for post-operative pain medication. It reduces the patient's risk of developing chronic pain syndrome. Insufficient analgesia before and after surgery can increase the patient’s sensitivity to pain associated with a subsequent noxious stimulus that may come about months or even years later.
COMMONLY USED ALPHA-2 ADRENERGIC AGONISTS
Metomidine ● Given pre-operatively at low doses to healthy dogs and cats, alone or in combination with opioids. ● When given intramuscularly, medetomidine has a faster onset and greater magnitude of effect compared to dexmedetomidine. Sedation lasts for about an hour. Effects: ● In dogs, metomidine causes less vomiting than xylazine. ● Produces better analgesia for catheter placement and greater reductions in anesthetic requirements compared with acepromazine. ● Less likely to cause hypotension in animals anesthetized with isoflurane. ● Can be used as a sublingual spray for an unmanageable cat. ● In felines, intramuscular administration of medetomidine tends to result in higher sedation scores and a greater degree of analgesia compared to dexmedetomidine.
Precautions: ● Low doses of medetomidine can cause bradycardia and atrioventricular block. Concurrent administration of atropine can help prevent this problem. ● In dogs, metomidine causes bradycardia, hyperglycemia, and increased urine production. It may cause dose- dependent arterial hypertension. ● Generally not recommended for IV administration because it has been associated with more severe form of arrhythmias. Reversal agent : Atipamazole Atipamazole is used to reverse dexmedetomidine and metomidine. The full reversal takes about 4 to 5 minutes after IM administration. It is not recommended for IV use as it can cause sudden cardiovascular changes on reversal. The dosage used to reverse metomidine or dexmedetomidine is an equal volume of atipamezole as was used for sedation.
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Book Code: VFL1526
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