Anesthesia protocols and techniques for imaging diagnosis procedures in small animals

Abstract

Nowadays, imaging diagnosis play an important role in veterinary medicine, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) being considered the top tool in diagnosing pathologies of different tissues and organs. Same as in pediatric medicine, this procedure has an impediment, represented by general anesthesia, whose effects upon the organism can increase risks. The importance of anesthesia during imaging diagnosis stands in the fact that the patients have to be motionless in order to achieve good quality images. General anesthesia for small animals during these procedures can be done with either the use of a total intravenous anesthesia or by using inhalation anesthesia. Both techniques described in studies have provided good results and are intended in helping practitioners all over the world. The purpose of this article is to highlight the most common anesthetic protocols and risks associated with them, as well as the aspects most seen by an anesthetist and imagist during an MRI scan.