Veterinary Anursethesia

17/11/2025

A pulse oximeter can show a heart rate or oxygen saturation even when it’s not on a patient because it’s reacting to noise, not real physiology. Ambient light, especially the flicker from fluorescent and some LED lights, which emit wavelengths overlapping the red and infrared range used to measure haemoglobin, can trick the sensor into thinking it sees a pulse.

Physics innit.

09/11/2025

We're all set for the 2026 Anaesthesia Roadshow, with all venues booked.

Apply for your 2026 CPD budget so you can get booked in as over a quarter of tickets have already gone!

Check it out here:

Understanding the fundamentals of anaesthesia monitoring will not only boost your confidence, but will also serve as a foundation for future skills and concepts.

24/10/2025

We’re back! Your fave showgirls (because I’d love to be in pink sparkles) are excited to announce the first of the 360 Days for 2026

On the 8th of March and I will be at

A day crammed with content, building confidence to not only use your monitoring to alert you but also to be able to act in an emergency.

4 hours of theory with a 2 hour practical workshop- 6 hours of CPD for £155

But be quick, as always these are small groups and limited to 24 people

02/10/2025

Oh, this ASA chart is fun and sexy! Print yours!

https://www.thinkanaesthesia.com.au/sites/default/files/2024-05/ASA%20Physical%20Status%20Classification%20Chart%20&%20Premedication%20Chart%20Digital.pdf

01/10/2025

They're HERE!

Quick guides to your ventilator!

Covering how to set up:
- Mindray Veta 5
- GE Datex-Ohmeda
- Smiths Medical ventiPAC
- Penlon Nuffield 200 Ventilator
- Burtons/Vetronics SAV04
- RWD R420/NarkoVet® SAV II
- NarkoVet® Pro
- Vetronic Merlin Ventilator
- Ventilator Terminology

Order yours here: https://shorturl.at/0xnAV

01/10/2025

We're absolutely thrilled at Vet Empowered to bring in an expert guest speaker for this session on something that's come up time and time again in our community. We are heading towards our 5th birthday, and this is one of our series of events to give back in line with our values.

Many veterinary professionals have noticed that hormones affect their mental health, but often feel uncertain about next steps. You may have researched symptoms independently, questioned whether what you're experiencing falls within normal ranges, or felt unsure about who to turn to for support or guidance.

That's exactly why we've invited Dr. Helena Tucker to join us. Helena is a Clinical Psychologist specialising in women's mental health, with a particular focus on PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder), PME (Premenstrual Exacerbation), neurodiversity, and menopausal mental health. What makes this even more valuable is that Helena brings both her professional expertise and her own lived experience with PMDD - she truly gets it from both sides.

Whether you're a vet, vet nurse, student, or practice manager, Helena will help you understand what's actually going on when hormones affect your mental health, the difference between PMS and PMDD, and crucially - what your options are. We'll talk about practical strategies that actually work in busy clinical environments, how to advocate for yourself in medical appointments, and where to find ongoing support.

There will be opportunity for questions, as well as to pre-submit them at registration.

To find out more, or to sign up, click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/jPiTWqxvRhywOJkqzpE93w #/registration

30/09/2025

A "pinch me" moment - I will have my very own spot at the Vets Now ECC congress in November! My debut exhibitors experience with my very own company. Woah.

Please come by and see me at Stand 36 to talk nerdy, see the sassy anaesthesia merch out there, and pick up some flyers on how I plan to blow 2026 anaesthesia CPD out of the water!

29/09/2025

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has a prevalence of approximately 15% in the domestic cat population (Payne et al., 2015). Therefore, it is fairly common to have to anaesthetise these patients for various procedures.

In cats with HCM, the ventricles become thickened, which leads to a reduction in cardiac output due to diastolic dysfunction. This leads to a secondary dilation of the left atrium as a result of increased pressures in the left ventricle. End results of this disease are myocardial hypoxia and left-sided congestive heart failure (Robinson and Borgeat, 2016).

But what do we need to consider before anaesthetising them?

- Reducing stress levels is important. This will minimise sympathetic stimulation and help prevent increased myocardial workload.
- Tachycardia should be avoided, as this will increase myocardial workload. Avoid drugs such as ketamine due to their sympathomimetic action.
- Low doses of alpha 2 agonists such as medetomidine may be considered, as they will cause bradycardia, which will increase ventricular filling. The reduction in cardiac output that they cause may also benefit ischaemic myocardial tissues due to the reduced oxygen demand. The use of these drugs may only be recommended in pre-clinical cases of HCM.
- Avoid hypovolemia, as this will reduce diastolic function further. However, intravenous fluid therapy administration should be done with care, as this could increase the preload in the heart and cause decompensation.

Just because a patient has HCM doesn’t mean they cannot be anaesthetised! We just need to consider how our anaesthesia plan will affect the patient and try to reduce risks where possible.

There is also the Veterinary Cardiovascular Society meeting in November: https://www.vet-cardio.co.uk/meeting/next-vcs-meeting/

Let’s get Lit:
- Robinson, R., and Borgeat, K. (2021) ‘Cardiovascular Disease’ in BSAVA manual of canine and feline anaesthesia and analgesia. 3rd edn. Quedgeley, Gloucester: British Small Animal Veterinary Association. 287
- Payne JR, Brodbelt DC, Luis Fuentes V. Cardiomyopathy prevalence in 780 apparently healthy cats in rehoming centres (the CatScan study). J Vet Cardiol. 2015 Dec;17 Suppl 1:S244-57. doi: 10.1016/j.jvc.2015.03.008. PMID: 26776583.

27/09/2025

Will you be at the BVNA (The British Veterinary Nursing Association) Congress next month?

I will be there on Saturday 11th October at the Makers Market!

Excitingly.. I will be launching my brand new ventilator sheets, covering how to use yours in practice:

- Ventilator Terminology
- Mindray Veta 5
- SAV04
- Merlin
- Penlon
- Ventipac
- GE Datex Omeha
- Narkovet Pro
- RWD/Narkovet II

Pop by the Makers Market and say hi!

24/09/2025

I am proud to say that my article on "Kickstart your understanding of neuromuscular blocking agents" has been published with The Veterinary Nurse journal!

This was never taught to me face-to-face, so I had to do all of my own reading over the years after finding myself in an ophthalmology theatre, wondering what a 'phaco' was.

Nothing in my New Zealand education from 2007 had prepared me for what I experienced in that theatre eight years ago.

And this is what makes me proud. Perhaps I could have used this article "way back when."

Enjoy.

https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/epub/10.12968/vetn.2024.0062

22/09/2025

Fluid therapy in our Guinnies!

Debilitated or dehydrated guinea pigs pose a significant anaesthetic risk. Fluid therapy is often required to stabilise the patient and support the cardiovascular system perioperatively.

Intravenous access in guinea pigs is difficult. Due to their small size, the use of the lateral saphenous or the cephalic vein comes with challenges even using a 26-gauge catheter. Using the jugular vein may be difficult to visualise and access because of the short necks and thick muscle layers in this area.

The subcutaneous route is the most commonly used method of administration; however, it is important to be careful of the interscapular area as here the tissues are tightly opposed to underlying tissues. A butterfly catheter and a syringe can be used to gently administer fluids over 2-3 different sites.

It is also important to know that guinea pigs have a higher maintenance fluid rate than dogs and cats. Due to their high glomerular filtration rate and metabolic rate, they require maintenance rates of 100ml/kg/day (Edis, 2016).

Let's get lit: https://www.theveterinarynurse.com/content/clinical/guinea-pig-anaesthesia-how-can-risks-be-reduced.

19/09/2025

An app on your phone that gives you easy access to validated pain scales for different species? YES PLEASE!

The VetPain app allows you to measure pain in a variety of species, including the Glasgow Composite Pain Scale for dogs and the Unesp-Botucatu Pain Scale for cats. A solid favourite too is the Feline Grimace Scale.

It will be difficult to miss even the most subtle signs of pain because there are videos demonstrating various pain behaviours that can be used to learn and teach others. Data from pain assessments can also be saved for future reference, potentially assisting us in identifying trends in our patients. It also provides validated scales for chronic pain and sedation levels. There are SO many great things about this app!

The Zero Pain Philosophy is another excellent resource for educating and supporting veterinary professionals in how to prevent and manage pain in their patients. Their website provides numerous learning opportunities, including webinars and podcasts to watch and listen to. I would recommend joining their membership too! As well as this, a whole host of videos demonstrating how to do various nerve block techniques.

There is no excuse for our patients to feel unnecessary pain when there are so many good resources out there for us to access and learn from!

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vetpain/id6462712970
Google: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vetpain.app
The Zero Pain Philosophy: https://www.zeropainphilosophy.com/