Abstract:
Intravenous anaesthesia is gradually becoming popular in veterinary practice. Traditionally,
general anaesthesia is induced with intravenous drugs and then maintained with inhalation
agents. Inhalation anaesthetic agents cause more significant dose-dependent cardiorespiratory
depression than intravenous anaesthetic drugs, creating a need to use less of the inhalation
anaesthetic agents for maintenance of general anaesthesia by supplementing with intravenous
anaesthesia drugs. Better still, if anaesthesia is maintained completely with intravenous
anaesthetic drugs, autonomic functions remain more stable intra-operatively. Patient recovery
from anaesthesia is smoother and there is less pollution of the working environment than
happens with inhalation anaesthetic agents. Recently, a number of drugs with profiles
(pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic) suitable for prolonged intravenous anaesthesia
have been studied, mostly in humans and, to a certain extent, in dogs and horses. There is
currently very little scientific information on total intravenous anaesthesia in goats, although,
in the past few years, some scholarly scientific articles on drugs suitable for partial intravenous
anaesthesia in goats have been published. This review article explored the information
available on drugs that have been assessed for partial intravenous anaesthesia in goats, with
the aim of promoting incorporation of these drugs into total intravenous anaesthesia protocols
in clinical practice. That way, balanced anaesthesia, a technique in which drugs are included
in anaesthetic protocols for specific desired effects (hypnosis, analgesia, muscle relaxation,
autonomic stabilisation) may be utilised in improving the welfare of goats undergoing general
anaesthesia.
