Successful management of hypoxaemia in a mule during general anaesthesia

Abstract

An 8-year-old, 167 kg mule was scheduled for surgical treatment of a hip luxation in lateral recumbency. During general anaesthesia, after a short phase of spontaneous breathing followed by mechanical ventilation at standard settings, the mule developed hypoxaemia (arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO 2 ) 8.3 kPa). First, respiratory rate, tidal volume and fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO 2 ) were increased; 5 cmH 2 0 of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and nebulized salbutamol were administered. Second, three vital capacity manoeuvres were executed (tidal volume of 20 ml kg −1 ). No immediate improvement in PaO 2 (8.0 kPa) was observed. A further recruitment manoeuvre with increased peak inspiratory pressure (up to 44 cmH 2 O) and PEEP (25 cmH 2 O) was performed. Over the following 120 min, PaO 2 increased progressively. The mule recovered without complications. This case reports that mules can develop hypoxaemia during general anaesthesia that can be treated with recruitment manoeuvres. However, the effect may not be immediate.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Assessment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Artefacts Caused by Equine Anaesthesia Equipment: A Cadaver Study

“…This device allows the delivery of more accurate tidal volumes compared to traditional pneumatic large animal ventilators [21], independent control of inspiratory time and respiratory rate, adjustable inspired fraction of oxygen (FiO 2 ), adjustable continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), and adjustable positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). The advanced features of the Tafonius have been successfully employed to apply CPAP [22,23], and stepwise increases in PEEP and alveolar recruitment manoeuvres to improve ventilation and oxygenation in anaesthetised horses [24] and mules [25] .…”