To allow veterinary students to become more proficient in the
anesthetic management of small animal patients (dogs, cats, small
exotics, birds, etc.).
Athena Title
Small Animal Advanced Anesthes
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught during a 13-week elective period for a total of 15 contact hours equivalent to 1 credit hour.
Pre or Corequisite
Enrollment in the third year of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will choose a safe, appropriate anesthetic protocol for routine small animal and small exotic animal cases, including pediatric and geriatric animals.
Students will choose a safe, appropriate anesthetic protocol for more critical small animal cases, including patients with cardiac, pulmonary, endocrine, renal, hepatic, GI, neurological, ophthalmic disease, and ASA status of III, IV, or V.
Students will become familiar with the techniques of anesthetic monitoring and be able to determine the appropriate level of monitoring for each case.
Students will anticipate the common complications seen under general anesthesia, and know how to prevent, recognize, and treat them.
Students will know how to appropriately use anticholinergics, sympathomimetics, anti-dysrhythmics, crystalloids, colloids, blood products, and oxyglobin perioperatively.
Students will know the indications and techniques for IPPV.
Students will know how to appropriately stabilize and perioperatively manage patients for emergency anesthesia (GDV, c-section, acute abdomen, trauma, airway emergencies.
Students will know how to manage pain in small animal and exotic patients, including the use of regional and local blocks.
Topical Outline
1. Review of Options for Anesthesia (TIVA), balanced anesthesia,
inhalation anesthesia. Muscle relaxants. Common anesthetic
protocols used in small animal patients. (1 lecture = 1 contact
hour).
2. Regional and Local Anesthesia/analgesia techniques (brachial
plexus blocks, digit blocks, retrobulbar blocks, dental blocks,
epidural blocks, IV regional). (1 lecture = 1 contact hour).
3. Monitoring under anesthesia. Causes and implications of
complications occurring in veterinary patients under anesthesia.
(2 lectures = 2 contact hours).
4. Management of complications under anesthesia and through
recovery (anticholinergics, inotropic support, anti-arrhythmics,
crystalloid and colloid administration, oxyglobin and blood
transfusions, ventilation, oxygen therapy, etc). (2 lectures = 2
contact hours).
5. Anesthesia for specific conditions in small animal patients:
(2 lectures = 2 contact hours)
Cardiac disease; Pulmonary disease; Endocrine disease; Renal
disease; Hepatic disease; Gastrointestinal disease;
Neurological disease; Ophthalmic disease; Pediatric and
geriatric patients; and Dealing with aggressive patients.
6. Anesthesia for small exotics: ferrets, rabbits guinea pigs,
birds, etc. (1 lecture = 1 contact hour)
7. Emergency anesthesia: stabilization, protocols, specific
problems: Gastric dilation and volvulus, sepsis, trauma,
ceasarian section, airway emergencies, etc. (2 lectures = 2
contact hours).
11. Anesthesia laboratory (= 1 lecture period; 2 laboratory
hours). The class will be broken up into 6 small groups (3
groups in the first 2 hour session and 3 groups in the second 2
hour session). Each group will have the opportunity to observe:
the effects of premedication, induction and maintenance of
general anesthesia, placement of intravenous catheters, fluid
administration, placement and correct usage of monitoring devices
and the principles of monitoring a patient under general
anesthesia. In addition, students will be given an exercise to
calculate drug dosages (to milligrams and milliliters) and fluid
administration rates for their group's dog. Small group sizes
will allow students more "hands-on" experience for this
laboratory.
