Anesthesia maintenance agents

Once the animal is under general anesthesia from the sedative and induction agents, we need to maintain anesthesia at a surgical plane.

Maintenance of anesthesia is commonly performed using one or more these protocols

• repeat injections of the sedative and induction agents
  • typically this uses 1/2 doses of the original doses, administered as needed
  • some agents (benzodiazepines) have a long half life and do not need redosing
• constant rate infusions (CRI)
  • common combinations include triple drips and double drips
  • just about any induction agent or combination of agents can be made into a CRI infusion
• intubation and inhalant anesthesia
  • intubation often requires a deeper plane of anesthesia
  • this can be risky in LA species, particularly if effective ventilation is not possible
  • if procedures will last more than 60 minutes, intubation and inhalant anesthesia is strongly recommended

See species specific information

• equine general anesthesia
• food animal general anesthesia
• small ruminant sedation and anesthesia
• camelid sedation and anesthesia
• swine sedation and anesthesia