Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Risk of passive regurgitation during general anesthesia in UK dogs
By Lamata, Cecilia et al.·Published in Veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia·2012·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The risk of passive regurgitation during general anaesthesia in a population of referred dogs in the UK.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs undergoing general anesthesia at a veterinary hospital in the UK was studied to see how often they regurgitated during the procedure. Out of over 4,200 dogs, only 41 cases of regurgitation were noted, which is a very low risk of about 1%. However, dogs that weighed more than 40 kg and those undergoing orthopedic surgery were found to be at a higher risk. This information can help veterinarians take extra precautions for larger dogs or those having certain types of surgery to minimize the chance of regurgitation during anesthesia.
People also search for: dog regurgitation during anesthesia · risks of anesthesia in large dogs · orthopedic surgery dog anesthesia precautions
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the risk of passive regurgitation during anaesthesia, and to identify major factors associated with this in dogs attending the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals (QMHA), the Royal Veterinary College. STUDY DESIGN: A case-control study nested within the cohort of dogs undergoing anaesthesia with inhalation agents. ANIMAL POPULATION: All dogs undergoing general anaesthesia at the referral hospital between October 2006 and September 2008 (4271 cases). METHODS: All dogs anaesthetized at the QMHA during the study period were included. Regurgitating cases were defined as dogs for which reflux material was observed at the external nares or in the mouth, either during anaesthesia or before return to normal consciousness immediately after general anaesthesia. The risk of regurgitation was estimated and risk factors for regurgitation were evaluated with multivariable logistic regression (p < 0.05). RESULTS: The overall risk of regurgitation was 0.96% (41 cases out of 4271 anaesthetics, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.67-1.25%). Exclusion of animals where pre-existing disease was considered a contributing factor to regurgitation (n = 14) resulted in a risk of passive regurgitation of 0.63% (27 cases of 4257 anaesthetics, 95% CI 0.40-0.87%). In the multivariable logistic regression model, procedure and patient weight were significantly associated with regurgitation. Dogs undergoing orthopaedic surgery were 26.7 times more likely to regurgitate compared to dogs undergoing only diagnostic procedures. Dogs weighing more than 40 kg were approximately five times more likely to regurgitate than those weighing <20 kg. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study highlights the rare but important occurrence of perioperative regurgitation and identifies that dogs undergoing orthopaedic procedures, and those weighing more than 40 kg, are particularly at risk. Further work is required to evaluate the reasons for these observations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22420292/