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The anatomy and physiology of armadillos make anesthetic procedures and the placement of telemetry devices challenging. From June 2011 to November 2019, a total of 73 free-living armadillos were captured and anesthetized in the Pantanal, Brazil. Giant ( Priodontes maximus ), six-banded ( Euphractus sexcinctus ), southern naked-tailed ( Cabassous unicinctus ), and nine-banded ( Dasypus novemcinctus ) armadillos were divided into two groups. In group 1, 30 armadillos were anesthetized for collection of biological samples, body measurements, and placement of a microchip tag. Anesthetic combination BDM was applied: butorphanol tartrate, detomidine hydrochloride, and midazolam hydrochloride, each at 0.1 mg/kg. In group 2, 43 armadillos received ketamine hydrochloride at 10 mg/kg 20 min after BDM injection, and intra-abdominal radio transmitters were surgically implanted. The transmitter was inserted freely into the abdominal cavity. Vital signs were monitored during anesthesia every 10 min and varied within species and between groups. Rectal temperature varied from 33.1 ± 1.36 to 35.34 ± 1.21°C, heart rate (beats/min) from 19 ± 2.14 to 84.71 ± 9.25, respiratory rate (breaths/min) from 11 ± 4.16 to 31 ± 2.82, and oxygen saturation values (SPO2%) from 84.17% ± 2.39 to 98% ± 1.20. Both groups received the antagonist combination NYF: naloxone hydrochloride (0.02 mg/kg), yohimbine hydrochloride (0.125 mg/kg), and flumazenil (0.01 mg/kg). Recovery varied according to intravenous or intramuscular injection from 2 ± 4 to 8.08 ± 2.93 min respectively. BDM protocol was considered satisfactory and provided enough time to complete the procedures (60 ± 85 to 133.20 ± 9.12 min) according to the species and group. Ketamine added to the BDM provided enough time and a surgical plane of anesthesia (97 ± 22 to 137 ± 39.5 min). The surgical procedure technique chosen did not appear to have a negative impact on armadillos studied. Implantable transmitters provide a cost-effective method for long-term monitoring of wild individuals.

Reasons for Performing Study: Multicentre Confidential Enquiries into Perioperative Equine Fatalities (CEPEF) have not been conducted since the initial CEPEF Phases 1-3, 20 years ago., Objectives: To collect data on current practice in equine anaesthesia and to recruit participants for CEPEF-4., Study Design: Online questionnaire survey., Methods: An online questionnaire was prepared and the link distributed internationally to veterinarians possibly performing equine anaesthesia, using emails, posters, flyers and an editorial. The questionnaire included 52 closed, semiclosed and open questions divided into 8 subgroups: demographic data, anaesthetist, anaesthesia management (preoperative, technical equipment, monitoring, drugs, recovery), areas of improvements and risks and motivation for participation in CEPEF-4. Descriptive statistics and Chi-squared tests for comparison of categorical variables were performed., Results: A total of 199 questionnaires were completed by veterinarians from 14 different countries. Of the respondents, 43% worked in private hospitals, 36% in private practices and 21% in university teaching hospitals. In 40 institutions (23%) there was at least one diplomate of the European or American colleges of veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia on staff. Individual respondents reported routinely employ the following anaesthesia monitoring modalities: electrocardiography (80%), invasive arterial blood pressures (70%), pulse oximetry (60%), capnography (55%), arterial blood gases (47%), composition of inspired and expired gases (45%) and body temperature (35%). Drugs administered frequently or routinely as part of a standard protocol were: acepromazine (44%), xylazine (68%), butorphanol (59%), ketamine (96%), diazepam (83%), isoflurane (76%), dobutamine (46%), and, as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, phenylbutazone (73%) or flunixin meglumine (66%). Recovery was routinely assisted by 40%. The main factors perceived by the respondents to affect outcome of equine anaesthesia were the preoperative health status of the animal and training of the anaesthetist., Conclusions: Current practice in equine anaesthesia varies widely, and the study has highlighted important topics relevant for designing a future prospective multicentre cohort study (CEPEF-4). The Summary is available in Chinese - see Supporting information., (© 2014 EVJ Ltd.)

The purpose of the study was to assess the haemodynamic (blood pressure and heart rate) changes and stress responses (serum cortisol and serum amyloid A [SAA] concentrations) to surgery in piglets during total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) with propofol and fentanyl. After preanaesthetic medication with intramuscular midazolam (0.5 mg/kg body mass), ketamine (10 mg/kg) and butorphanol (0.5 mg/kg) anaesthesia was induced in five piglets, with intravenous propofol (1 mg/kg) followed by tracheal intubation and mechanical lung ventilation. Soft tissue surgery was performed in the jugular and inguinal regions during TIVA with propofol (8 mg/kg/h) and fentanyl (35 microg/kg/h). Anaesthesia was maintained for 300 min after surgery as the piglets were the control group of a project involving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Mean plasma cortisol concentration decreased significantly (P<0.05) from 59+/-39.9 nmol/L (mean+/-1 SD) before surgery to 7.5+/-2.5 nmol/L 300 min after end of surgical procedure. The mean SAA concentrations increased over the same period from 1.6+/-2.3 microg/mL to 4.2+/-5.6 microg/mL without statistical significance. The baseline (presurgery) mean arterial pressure (MAP) was 72+/-9 mmHg compared with 72+/-11 mmHg 300 min after end of surgery. Neither heart rate nor lactate concentrations changed significantly over the same time points: heart rate was 104+/-11 and 103+/-15 beats/min whereas mean lactate concentrations were reduced from 1.14+/-0.45 mmol/L to 0.90+/-0.22 mmol/L. Haemodynamic stability, a decrease in serum cortisol and a non-statistically significant rise in mean SAA concentrations suggest that the anaesthetic described suppresses the stress response of piglets to surgery without adverse cardiovascular effects. Therefore, it may prove useful in cardiovascular research.

Current attitudes to the use of animals in biomedical research require that any pain or distress should be minimised. This can often be achieved by the use of appropriate anaesthetic and analgesic regimens. There, is however, little information on the peri-operative regimens used. A literature review was conducted to estimate how commonly analgesics are administered to laboratory rodents, the most widely used species of laboratory animals, and to assess the anaesthetic regimens employed. Studies describing potentially painful experimental procedures involving rodents were identified from peer-reviewed journals published from 1990 to 1992 and from 2000 to 2002. In papers published between 2000 and 2002, if analgesic administration was not specified, the institutional veterinary surgeons or authors of the papers were contacted by e-mail to obtain additional information on analgesic use. From 1992 to 2002, there was an increase in the reported prevalence of analgesic administration to laboratory rodents from 2.7% to 19.8%. Although the use of analgesics has increased over the past ten years, the overall level of post-operative pain relief for laboratory rodents is still low. Anaesthetic methodology changed markedly between the two time-periods sampled. Notably, there was an increase in the use of isoflurane and of injectable anaesthetic combinations such as ketamine/xylazine, whereas the use of ether and methoxyflurane decreased.

Physiological parameters, metabolic parameters and stress-related hormones are evaluated in horses anaesthetized with isoflurane in oxygen combined with lidocaine intravenously. Two groups of horses anaesthetized with isoflurane (six horses in each group) were studied: a lidocaine group (IL), which received intravenous lidocaine and a control group (C), which received intravenous saline. Horses in both groups were premedicated with detomidine (i.v.), and anaesthesia was induced with midazolam-ketamine (i.v.). The lidocaine group received intravenous lidocaine as a loading dose of 2.5 mg kg(-1) at 15 min after induction of anaesthesia directly followed by a maintenance dosage of 50 microg kg(-1) min(-1), while the control group received saline (i.v.) following the same regime. End-tidal isoflurane and standard physiological parameters were measured. Blood was sampled for measurement of lidocaine, stress hormones and metabolic parameters. The end-tidal isoflurane concentration in the lidocaine group was 0.96 +/- 0.06% versus 1.28 +/- 0.06% (mean +/- SD) in the control group, a significant (P < 0.05) reduction of 25%. No significant differences were found regarding stress-related hormones, metabolic and physiological parameters. This study suggests that the use of lidocaine to decrease the concentration of isoflurane to obtain a sufficient surgical anaesthesia has no subsequent effects on physiological and metabolic parameters or stress-related hormones.

There are several newer diagnostic and surgical techniques available to veterinarians today. Careful anesthetic management is essential when using these modalities both to avoid accidents and to enable their use. For example, total intravenous anesthetic techniques can be used if the airway is occupied by an endoscope or laser surgery is being performed in the airway. The anesthesiologist must also be aware of the physiological changes that may occur during procedures such as laparoscopy and act to minimize their impact on patients.

Laser surgery and laparoscopy are two relatively new surgical techniques gaining popularity in veterinary medicine, which require special consideration when being performed on the anesthetized patient. For laser surgery, consideration must be given to the possibility of atmospheric contamination, inappropriate energy transfer, eye injury, perforation of a vessel or anatomic structure, perforation of the endotracheal tube, and fire. The primary concern with laparoscopy and thoracoscopy is the creation of a pneumoperitoneum or pneumothorax, which can result in (1) hypercarbia and inadequate ventilation, (2) poor cardiac output and systemic blood pressure, and (3) gas embolism. To minimize complications, patients should be placed on positive pressure ventilation, be well hydrated before and during the procedure, and be thoroughly monitored (ECG, capnography, pulse oximetry.

The cortisol response to anaesthesia and surgery was studied in 2 groups of horses undergoing either abdominal or non-abdominal surgery. The preoperative mean plasma cortisol concentration (pcc) of 381.7 nmol/l (s.d. 254.7) was markedly higher in the abdominal group than the early-morning mean pcc of 115.6 nmol/l (s.d. 78.4) in the non-abdominal group. During halothane anaesthesia and surgery the mean pcc increased significantly (p < 0.05) from the preoperative mean of 119.2 to 215.9 nmol/l (s.d. 79.8) after 30 min of surgery in the non-abdominal group. In the abdominal group a decrease occurred after induction of anaesthesia and surgical preparation, but increased during surgery to a mean pcc of 418.1 nmol/l (s.d. 236.5). In the postoperative period a large decrease in the mean pcc occurred after 24 h in the abdominal group. It was only after 60 h that the pcc (153.2 nmol/l) equalled the pcc of the non-abdominal group (171.4 nmol/l) at 24 h. The slow decline over 60 h could be an indication of the prolonged recovery associated with abdominal surgery in the horse.

Lower oesophageal pH was monitored in 270 dogs under anaesthesia. There were 47 episodes of gastro-oesophageal reflux (17.4 per cent), most of which occurred shortly after the induction of anaesthesia. The refluxate was usually acid (pH < 4.0), but in four of the episodes (8.5 per cent) it was alkaline (pH > 7.5). Gastric contents with a pH below 2.5 were refluxed on 27 occasions (10 per cent) for an average period of about 44 minutes. Regurgitation occurred in two of the dogs. Increased age seemed to be associated with an increased incidence of reflux and an increased gastric acidity. Body position (sternal, dorsal and left or right lateral) and the tilt of the body during surgery (horizontal or tilted to an 8 degrees head-up or head-down position) had no influence on the incidence of gastro-oesophageal reflux. Dogs undergoing intra-abdominal surgery had significantly more reflux episodes than dogs undergoing non-abdominal surgery.

Cadavers were compared with live anesthetized dogs for their effectiveness as models for surgical training of veterinary medical students. One group of students was trained using cadavers, and a peer group was trained using live anesthetized dogs. Both groups then performed an intestinal anastomosis using a live subject. The time to completion of the procedure was recorded. The anastomoses and celiotomy closures were evaluated. Each anastomosis was isolated and pressure tested. Reviewers blindly scored each surgical team's performance based on actual inspection of the surgical site and on viewing videotapes of the procedure. The participants' attitudes toward the use of live animals in teaching and research were documented before and after training. No statistically significant differences could be detected between the two groups. The results suggest that some substitution of cadavers for live dogs in surgical training might be feasible.