15 Fall/Winter 2021 | Equine Solutions
It is important to monitor and accurately interpret as many
parameters as possible to gain a good, overall picture of your
patients' well being during anesthesia.
TIP With so many things to monitor on screen during
surgery, as well as the constant physical examining of your
patient, a helpful feature of the monitor we use is to adjust
the wave colors and the order the waves are displayed on the
screen for easy viewing and recognition at a glance.
Wave Parameter Color
1 ECG (2 waves) Green
2 Blood pressure Red
3 Heart rate Red
4 SpO
2
Purple
5 ETCO
2
Cyan
Even though this article covers the essential use of multiparameter
monitoring during surgery, it is important to note that the most
dangerous parts of equine anesthesia are the induction and
recovery phases. Monitoring of the patient during these phases
is not possible due to their size and temperament, which is
why continuous education and development is required for
anesthetists to reduce anesthetic mortality. This will also advance
understanding of what multiparameter monitors are displaying,
and how to interpret the wealth of information they can provide.
In summary, Robert Smith, MD stated that, "There are no safe
anesthetic drugs, there are no safe anesthetic techniques, there
are only safe anesthetists"
3
, which is why continuous anesthetist
development is vital for the overall safety of horses during
anesthesia.
Article written by Clinique Equine Acy-Romance and sponsored by
References
1. GM Johnston, JK Eastment, JLN Wood & PM Taylor (2002) The confidential enquiry into perioperative equine fatalities (CEPEF): mortality results of Phases 1 and 2, Veterinary
Anesthesia and Analgesia, 2002, 29, p 159-170.
2. Walsh, Timothy & Saleh, Ezz-El-Din. (2006). Anaemia during critical illness. British journal of anesthesia. 97. 278-91. 10.1093/bja/ael189. Link: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/
The-haemoglobin-oxygen-dissociation-curve-and-factors-that-cause-left-and-right-shift_fig3_6913827
3. AAHA Anesthesia Guidelines for Dogs and Cats (2011) p 337. Link: https://www.aaha.org/globalassets/02-guidelines/anesthesia/anesthesia_guidelines_for_dogs_and_cats.pdf
The importance of monitoring your patient
Equine anesthesia tips
