Veterinary anesthesia
Veterinary anesthesia is a specialization in the veterinary medicine field dedicated to the proper administration of anesthetic agents to non-human animals to control their consciousness during procedures.[1][2] A veterinarian or a Registered Veterinary Technician administers these drugs to minimize stress, destructive behavior, and the threat of injury to both the patient and the doctor.[3] The duration of the anesthesia process goes from the time before an animal leaves for the visit to the time after the animal reaches home after the visit, meaning it includes care from both the owner and the veterinary staff.[3] Generally, anesthesia is used for a wider range of circumstances in animals than in people not only due to their inability to cooperate with certain diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, but also due to their species, breed, size, and corresponding anatomy.[4] Veterinary anesthesia includes anesthesia of the major species: dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, as well as all other animals requiring veterinary care such as birds, pocket pets, and wildlife.[2]
Specialization in anesthesia[edit]
In North America, the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia is one of 22 specialty organizations recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association.[5] The ACVAA was recognized by the AVMA in 1975, despite attempts by the AVMA to include anesthesia as a subspecialty of surgery or medicine.[6] As of 2016, there are more than 250 diplomates of the ACVAA.[7] To become an ACVAA board-certified Diplomate, veterinarians must have at least one year of clinical practice experience followed by three years of anesthesia residency training under the supervision of ACVAA Diplomates, have accepted for publication a scientific peer-reviewed research article, and passed both a written and clinical competency examination.
In Europe, the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia (ECVAA) is one of 23 specialty organizations recognized by the European Board of Veterinary Specialization.[8] As of 2018, there are over 4,000 active ECVA Diplomates.[9]
Anesthesia technicians[edit]
Anesthesia which is supervised by a qualified technician is safer than anesthesia without a technician.[10] In most private veterinary practices, the technician administers and monitors anesthesia with supervision from the attending veterinarian. In many academic institutions, anesthesia technicians are involved in working with and teaching veterinary students as well as supervising anesthetized cases. The Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia is a provisional specialty academy of the North American Veterinary Technician Association and is responsible for licensing technicians as being specialized in anesthesia. For a technician to become specialized, they must be a licensed technician in their state, accumulate 6000 hours of work in veterinary medicine (at least 75% of which must be in anesthesia), 40 hours of continuing education related to anesthesia, demonstrate proficiency in anesthesia skills, and pass a comprehensive written examination.[11]
Application in animals[edit]
Anesthesia is required for many surgical procedures which require the patient to be immobile, unaware, and without pain. Furthermore, anesthesia aims to minimize the surgical stress response.[2] In addition, certain diagnostic procedures require anesthesia, notably stomach or airway endoscopy, bone marrow sampling, and occasionally ultrasound. Aggressive animals may require anesthesia in order to handle and perform a physical exam or obtain blood for testing. Exotic animals frequently require anesthesia for simple procedures (such as taking a radiograph or catheter placement) due to lack of domesticity.[4] Animals may require anesthesia for therapeutic procedures, such as urinary catheterization to relieve obstruction, injection into a mass, or removing fluid from the eye to treat glaucoma.[4]
In addition to anesthesia, analgesia is often managed by anesthesiologists or is included in the considerations for anesthesia.[2]