Pre-Anesthetic Testing
Why It’s So Important To Your Pet’s Health
Testing prior to anesthesia helps us care for your pet
As in human medicine, the anesthetics available for anesthetizing our companion pets are extremely safe. As a result, the anesthetic risk is greatly minimized when a healthy pet is placed under anesthesia. However, if your pet is not healthy, complications can occur both during and after the anesthetic procedure. To minimize potential risk associated with anesthesia, it is vital for us to know the complete health status of your pet before placing him or her under anesthesia.
Why pre-anesthetic testing is so important
Unlike humans, our companion animals often do not tell us when they do not feel well; as a result of animals’ instinct to protect themselves, oftentimes pets will “hide” their illness. Therefore, an animals’ appearance of health may be misleading. For example, a pet can lose up to 75% of kidney function prior to showing any signs of illness. To understand your pet’s “overall” health, it is crucial to derive additional information through testing prior to anesthesia.
Prior to anesthesia, we will obtain a complete history and perform a detailed physical exam on your pet and do pre-anesthetic testing. If the results of the tests are within normal ranges, we can proceed with confidence knowing the anesthetic risk is minimized. On the other hand, if the results are not within normal ranges, we may alter the anesthetic procedure to ensure your pet safety.
Although performing these tests cannot guarantee the absence of complications, it can significantly minimize the risk to your pet and provide peace of mind.
These are some of the tests which may be recommended for your pet:
Blood Chemistry
Blood chemistry tests provide information concerning your pet’s vital organs such as the kidneys, liver, pancreas, thyroid, parathyroid and intestinal tract. These tests can also indicate conditions such as anemia and dehydration as well as endocrine diseases and certain types of tumors.
Complete Blood Cell Count (CBC)
The CBC provides information concerning the various types of blood cells. The red blood cells (RBC's) carry oxygen to the tissue of the body. White blood cells (WBC's) are the body's primary defense against infection. Platelets play a major role in the blood clotting process and are essential for halting the bleeding process..
Urinalysis
The urinalysis provides important information about the functioning capacity of the kidneys. In addition, the urine contains by-products from many organs and abnormal levels of these by-products can indicate disease such as liver and kidney disease or diabetes.
Electrolytes
In order to maintain life, the appropriate balance of electrolytes is vital. Certain diseases or conditions may result in electrolyte imbalances that could compromise a pet's health and ultimately become life threatening.
Other Tests
Depending on your pet’s age, history and physical exam, an EKG (electrocardiogram) or serum thyroid levels may be recommended.
Content used with permission; based on material provided by IDEXX Laboratories. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
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