Comparison of lithium dilution and thermodilution cardiac output measurements in anaesthetised neonatal foals.

The research focuses on comparing two methods of measuring cardiac output, lithium dilution and thermodilution, in anaesthetised neonatal foals to improve their treatment during critical illness or anaesthesia.

Introduction

• The researchers are attempting to find a practical and safe method of measuring cardiac output in neonatal foals (newborn horses).
• Treatment of hypotension associated with critical illness or anaesthesia relies on understanding the cardiac output.
• The inherent challenge lies in the fact that no such practical method had been previously described for neonatal foals.

Implementation

• The researchers decided to apply lithium dilution method, a new technique designed for determining cardiac output.
• The technique does not require cardiac catheterisation and has been previously reported in mature horses.
• They compared this method with thermodilution, another commonly used approach, in foals aged between 30 to 42 hours who were under anaesthesia with isoflurane, which is a common drug used in veterinary anaesthesia.

Results

• On comparison of these two methods, the researchers found good agreement between both in a range of cardiac outputs from 5.4 to 20.4 liters per minute.
• This indicates that lithium dilution can be a reliable comeasurement for cardiac output in anaesthetised neonatal foals.

Conclusion

• From the findings, it is suggested that this method may be efficient in critically ill foals and might improve the treatment provided to them.
• However, further investigation in critically ill conscious foals is required for confirmation.