Common veterinary practice in small animal anesthesia - an online survey among small animal practitioners in Europe

Abstract

Survey concerning the situation of small animal anesthesia in Europe and assessment of the compliance with the guidelines of the AVA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) and the DVG specialty group VAINS (Veterinary Anesthesia, Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine, and Pain Management). A link to an online survey with questions concerning anesthesia management (topics include demographics, equipment, monitoring, thermal management, pre-anesthetic examination, anesthetic protocol, and others) was sent to small animal practitioners in several countries. A total of 767 evaluable questionnaires came from Germany (n = 343), Austria (n = 216), Switzerland (n = 83), the United Kingdom (n = 38), France (n = 25), Hungary (n = 25), Scandinavia (n = 23), and "other countries" (n = 11). On average, 91 % of respondents complied with the AVA guideline and 58 % complied with the VAINS specialty group guideline even before its publication. Practices/clinics with higher staff possessed superior equipment, and practices/clinics performing higher numbers of anesthesias per week were more likely to implement "good preliminary examination." Although the guidelines were found to be implemented to a certain degree, the presented study reveals a potential for optimization of the anesthesia regime in many practices/clinics, e. g. by improving the equipment or allowing for better use of present apparatus.