Anesthesiology & Pain Management

Nutritional needs often play a secondary role to medical and surgical intervention. Critically ill veterinary patients are at high risk for malnutrition because of physical impediments, as well as physiologic and metabolic abnormalities. Protein and/or calorie malnutrition results in decreased immune competence, decreased tissue synthesis, increased protein degradation (especially that of the lymphatic system), altered drug metabolism and is known to increase morbidity and mortality in human patients. Although veterinary studies are lacking, it is generally accepted that early enteral nutrition decreases complications from malnutrition.

10 key points for a well-balanced veterinary pain management program.

Should our pregnant associate use a respirator during surgeries to avoid inhaling anesthetic gases?

Australian study finds veterinarians are failing to take safety precautions.

Pain is defined as an aversive sensory and emotional experience.

The ferrets are mammals in the Mustelid family.

All commercially available sedatives and anesthetics are safe when properly administered to normal animals.

Allen Lakein said "planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now".

Understanding the operation and maintenance of the anesthesia deliver system (ADS) is essential for operator and patient safety.

A good anesthetist must have an understanding of normal physiology - as this it is altered by general anesthesia.

Hypoventilation (decreased rate and/or depth of breathing) is a common consequence of general anesthesia and results in increased arterial carbon dioxide concentrations (PaCO2).

The primary concerns for anesthesia for dogs with spinal neurologic disease are the need to prevent pulmonary aspiration of gastric fluid if food has not been withheld, to maintain a low intracranial pressure (ICP) and therefore a low spinal cord pressure, and the provision for pain management.

Goals of this presentation are to identify physiologic and pathologic abnormalities that require attention in order to provide safe anesthesia in dogs and cats that have, or will be undergoing, penetration of the thoracic cavity.

Administration of analgesic agents into the epidural site has been documented to provide analgesia during anesthesia for surgery in dogs.

Many of the anesthetic agents commonly used today, including thiopental, propofol, isoflurane, and sevoflurane, have little intrinsic analgesic activity.

Effective management of an anesthetic complication is dependent on early recognition of an abnormality and rapid implementation of a treatment plan.

Patients that have physiologic or pathologic abnormalities are more likely to develop complications during or after anesthesia and surgery.

Monitoring the patient adequately is the basis of safe clinical anesthesia.

Many variables affect anesthesia including the patient, the sedative and anesthetic agents used and the anesthetist.

A new study examines how an accelerometer-based activity monitor may help researchers objectively measure a cat's mobility. This type of monitoring has potential in assessing the effectiveness of pain-relieving therapies for conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Denver, Colo. - 3/7/08 - The Morris Animal Foundation will sponsor a live animal pain management Web cast for veterinarians on Thursday, March 13.

"Early feeding through a nasogastric tube is definitely something that I advocate for parvo cases, as long as you can control emesis."

Osteosarcoma is a common cancer to see in larger, middle-aged to older dogs. One of the challenges in treating these patients is pain management. Amputation effectively relieves bone pain and is the standard of care for patients, but may not be an option for all dogs.

We are always looking for a way to free up our hands when administering mask anesthesia to our exotic surgical patients.

Q How can we prepare clients for unexpected costs that result from problems found during dental cleanings?

Relief of acute and chronic pain in animals is an important part of the practice of veterinary medicine. Human pain medications frequently are used in small-animal and equine practice. However, food-animal practitioners must follow the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act (AMDUCA), which limits extra-label drug use to treatment when an animal's health is threatened, it is suffering or death might result from failure to treat.

Oral surgery in canine and feline patients often requires extended periods of anesthesia necessitating optimal anesthetic management.

Minneapolis - Dr. Carl Seemann plans to appeal an administrative law judge's ruling that backs state regulators' efforts to suspend his license for not administering drugs to manage a surgical patient's pain.

I am absolutely convinced that veterinarians will be faced with more intrusive government rules and regulations than ever before. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's going to get worse.

The American Animal Hospital Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners have just put together new guidelines for pain management, which cover types of pain, recognition and assessment, and intervention.