Veterinary Anesthesia Monitoring Quiz

Veterinary Anaesthesia Monitoring Techniques and Considerations

• Monitoring depth of anesthesia involves observing eye reflexes, position, jaw tone, and eye movements, and it can be measured by watching the chest and the breathing system's reservoir bag.
• Respiratory rate is 8-20 for dogs and 15-30 for cats, but it is a relatively poor indicator of respiratory adequacy compared to CO2 levels measured by capnography.
• Pulse palpation of auricular, lingual, brachial, metacarpal, femoral, coccygeal, and dorsal pedal arteries provides information on peripheral perfusion and heart rate.
• Good pulses do not always equal good blood pressure, as pulse pressure does not reflect absolute values, and arrhythmias may be detected as "dropped beats".
• Legal requirements mandate monitoring trends, recording drugs/interventions, and identifying complications during anesthesia.
• Good interpretation of monitoring data is essential, as additional monitoring may increase anesthesia time and is not a substitute for basic monitoring.
• Monitoring techniques include respiratory pulse oximetry, capnography, ECG, blood pressure, urine output, and arterial blood gas analysis.
• Pulse oximetry measures SpO2, which should be above 90% in animals breathing room air and above 95% in anesthetized animals breathing 100% oxygen.
• Factors affecting pulse oximetry readings include pigmented skin, movement, compression of the vascular bed, ambient light, and various health conditions.
• Cyanosis, the blue color of arterial blood when deoxyhemoglobin is present, is not always a reliable indicator of desaturation, and pulse oximetry is more sensitive for its detection.
• Capnography measures end-tidal CO2, with normal values of 4.6 – 6 kPa in animals with normal lungs, providing information on respiratory rate and indicating hypo- or hyperventilation under anesthesia.
• Mainstream and sidestream analyzers provide different information, such as respiratory rate, EtCO2, inspired CO2, and "the trace", and action is required above an EtCO2 of 8.

Veterinary Anaesthesia Monitoring Techniques and Considerations

• Monitoring depth of anesthesia involves observing eye reflexes, position, jaw tone, and eye movements, and it can be measured by watching the chest and the breathing system's reservoir bag.
• Respiratory rate is 8-20 for dogs and 15-30 for cats, but it is a relatively poor indicator of respiratory adequacy compared to CO2 levels measured by capnography.
• Pulse palpation of auricular, lingual, brachial, metacarpal, femoral, coccygeal, and dorsal pedal arteries provides information on peripheral perfusion and heart rate.
• Good pulses do not always equal good blood pressure, as pulse pressure does not reflect absolute values, and arrhythmias may be detected as "dropped beats".
• Legal requirements mandate monitoring trends, recording drugs/interventions, and identifying complications during anesthesia.
• Good interpretation of monitoring data is essential, as additional monitoring may increase anesthesia time and is not a substitute for basic monitoring.
• Monitoring techniques include respiratory pulse oximetry, capnography, ECG, blood pressure, urine output, and arterial blood gas analysis.
• Pulse oximetry measures SpO2, which should be above 90% in animals breathing room air and above 95% in anesthetized animals breathing 100% oxygen.
• Factors affecting pulse oximetry readings include pigmented skin, movement, compression of the vascular bed, ambient light, and various health conditions.
• Cyanosis, the blue color of arterial blood when deoxyhemoglobin is present, is not always a reliable indicator of desaturation, and pulse oximetry is more sensitive for its detection.
• Capnography measures end-tidal CO2, with normal values of 4.6 – 6 kPa in animals with normal lungs, providing information on respiratory rate and indicating hypo- or hyperventilation under anesthesia.
• Mainstream and sidestream analyzers provide different information, such as respiratory rate, EtCO2, inspired CO2, and "the trace", and action is required above an EtCO2 of 8.