Anaesthesia and your pet - the risks?



"Anaesthesia has progressed far further than simply keeping the patient alive. It should be considered as an active part of patient care. What is done by the anaesthetist during the perioperative period can have a substantial impact on the overall patient outcome." - Dr Keagan Boustead

The nervous system consists of a central (brain and spinal cord) and a peripheral (nerves leaving the spinal cord) component. Together they control the movement of body structures (conscious and unconscious) as well as transmit and interpret sensory signals (eg touch, pressure, heat and pain). Anaesthesia is essentially reversible drug induced nervous system depression. If this depression is confined to the peripheral component of the nervous system, it is called loco-regional anaesthesia. Whereas general anaesthesia involves central nervous system depression. It is this central nervous system depression that provides unconsciousness, lack of pain sensation and muscle relaxation.


Certain individuals and populations of animals are less likely able to tolerate organ function depression that occurs with anaesthesia and are thus at higher risk of anaesthetic related mortality.




The anaesthetic risk may be substantially higher from the values provided in the table in certain individuals.

Although mitigating mortality is very important, anaesthesia has progressed far further than simply keeping the patient alive. It should be considered as an active part of patient care. What is done by the anaesthetist during the perioperative period can have a substantial impact on the overall patient outcome. For example, blood pressure, blood volume status and temperature (all controlled by the anaesthetist) will all influence the risk of post operative infections.



Bille C, Auvigne V, Bomassi E et al. (2014) An evidence-based medicine approach to small animal anaesthetic mortality in a referral practice: the influence of initiating three recommendations on subsequent anaesthetic deaths. Vet Anaesth Analg 41, 249-258.

Bille C, Auvigne V, Libermann S et al. (2012) Risk of anaesthetic mortality in dogs and cats: an observational cohort study of 3546 cases. Vet Anaesth Analg 39, 59-68.

Brodbelt DC, Blissitt KJ, Hammond RA et al. (2008) The risk of death: the confidential enquiry into perioperative small animal fatalities. Vet Anaesth Analg 35, 365-373.

Matthews NS, Mohn TJ, Yang M et al. (2017) Factors associated with anesthetic-related death in dogs and cats in primary care veterinary hospitals. J Am Vet Med Assoc 250, 655-665.



Article written by : Dr Keagan Boustead







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