Safe delivery of anaesthetic agents in cats and rabbits
Abstract
This article reviews the methods used to administer volatile anaesthetic agents to veterinary patients, particularly focusing on the difficulties encountered when performing endotracheal intubation in cats and rabbits, and the negative outcomes associated with these difficulties. The article focuses on the novel use of supraglottic airway devices, which up until recently had only been available for human use, discussing the benefits that the use of these devices may have over using ‘standard’ anaesthetic agent delivery techniques.
This article reviews the use of v-gel® anaesthetics masks (Docsinnovent®). The v-gel® is a supraglottic airway device that offers an alternative to endotracheal intubation.
Endotracheal tubes were first used in 1880 by William Macewen (Brandt, 1986). Since then endotracheal tubes have been used routinely in the human and veterinary fields. These are generally viewed as the standard technique for administering oxygen, nitrous oxide and volatile anaesthetic agents to patients under general anaesthesia or sedation. Endotracheal tubes are available in a variety of materials, e.g. red rubber, siliconized rubber or various types of plastic, e.g. PVC (Dugdale, 2010).
The use of endotracheal tubes in feline patients is a subject of great debate. The trachea of the cat comprises a cartilaginous and membranous tube that functions as an airway between the larynx and the bronchi. The trachea is composed of a series of hyaline cartilage rings which are joined by connective tissue and the trachealis muscle that runs along the complete length of the trachea. These incomplete rings and the trachealis muscle are beneficial because they give the trachea a great deal of flexibility and elasticity (Adshead, 2011). However, this area may be damaged during excessive cuff inflation, resulting in a longitudinal tear down the join between the trachealis muscle and the tracheal rings (Kästner et al, 2004).
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