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Objective: External radiation therapy has been available since 2011 for small animals at the University of Munich. The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life of treated pets and the satisfaction of their owners., Material and Methods: The questionnaire was sent to the owners of all the pets (n = 91) that had undergone primary or adjuvant radiotherapy at the Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, University of Munich, since April 2011., Results: The questionnaire was returned by 68 (74.7%) owners. According to their assessment, the quality of life improved in 41 cases (60.3%) after treatment where- as in 13 patients (19.1%) a decline was described. The majority of owners (88.2%) would have decided for repeated radiation therapy., Conclusion: Improvement of the animals' quality of life is related to a high satisfaction (83.8%) of the owners (p = 0.003) and their positive attitude towards radiotherapy (p = 0.027)., Clinical Relevance: Analyses showed that for these owners, the treatment was a worthwhile therapy despite it requiring much time and money.

Unlabelled: The purpose of the present study was to compare two sedation regimens with either propofol (P) or methohexital (M) for elective magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in children with respect to safety, side effects, recovery, and discharge time., Methods: After Institutional Review Board approval, 120 unpremedicated children with a mean age of 26.5 +/- 21.4 months (M) and 28.1 +/- 19.9 months (P) were randomly assigned to receive a hypnotic induction dose of either M or P. Supplemental bolus injections of M or P were administered to maintain adequate sedation. The following parameters were measured: heart rate, oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2), respiratory rate, end-tidal CO2 (PetCO2), side effects, and recovery and discharge times., Results: Spontaneous respiration was maintained in all patients, and ventilatory support was only necessary for 2 min in 1 M patient immediately after the induction dose. The mean loading and total doses for M were 2.3 +/- 0.7 and 6.1 +/- 3.3 mg/kg respectively, and for P 2.3 +/- 0.9 and 5.8 +/- 2.7 mg/kg. Following induction SpO2 < 90% occurred in 0.49% with M and in 0.64% with P (n.s.). Apnoe > 20s was observed in 2 children each after M and P (n.s.). The frequency of hypoventilation (PetCO2 > 48 mmHg) was 0.36% in the M group and 0.71% in the P group (n.s.). MRI sequences had to be repeated in 5% of the children in each group because of spontaneous movements. The heart rate fell significantly during MRI in both groups, while P children had lower frequencies than M children (P < 0.01). Recovery and discharge times were significantly shorter in the P group, at 0.8 min (0.08-4.8) and 2.2 min (0.2-15.0), compared to 1.5 min (0.3-28.5) and 3.5 min (0.6-40.0) in patients receiving P (P < 0.01). No patient required admission to the postanaesthesia care unit and all were free from nausea and vomiting., Discussion: Intravenous sedation with M or P using the reported technique is a safe regimen for children undergoing elective MRI. The fast recovery and discharge times seem to offer advantages over general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation. The faster recovery and discharge of only a few minutes after P compared with M is without clinical relevance.