Anesthesia and Analgesia
This domain tests premedication, induction, maintenance, monitoring, analgesia, and recovery. The exam favors recognition of abnormal parameters and safe technician action.
Core rules
- Balanced anesthesia combines premedication, induction, maintenance, and multimodal analgesia. Depth is judged from jaw tone, palpebral reflex, heart rate, blood pressure, and response to surgery, not one reflex alone.
- Monitor HR, RR, SpO2, ETCO2, blood pressure, temperature, and mucous membranes. Hypotension is commonly treated when systolic pressure is below about 90 mmHg or MAP below 60 mmHg, after checking depth, cuff size, and volume status.
- Pain assessment is species- and procedure-specific; use a validated scale and treat before pain escalates.
Worked example
A 20-kg dog under isoflurane has HR 150, MAP 55 mmHg, pale mucous membranes, and CRT 2 seconds. The technician checks the cuff size and position, confirms the vaporizer setting, verifies the IV catheter, and reports the values. The reasoning: low MAP with pale membranes suggests poor perfusion; the cause may be too-deep anesthesia, hypovolemia, or cuff error. Raising the vaporizer without evaluating perfusion would be unsafe.
Traps
A normal SpO2 does not prove adequate ventilation; ETCO2 is needed. Too-wide or too-narrow cuffs distort blood pressure. Hypothermia and a missed recovery obstruction are common. Do not leave a recovering patient unmonitored.