General anesthesia does not induce ultrasonographic changes in the pleura of healthy adult horses anesthetized for elective magnetic resonance imaging.

The research article explores whether general anesthesia, commonly used for elective magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), causes any changes in the pleura (the membrane around the lungs) of healthy adult horses, by using a recently developed ultrasonographic scoring system. The research found no significant changes in the condition of the pleura within 3 hours post anesthetic recovery.

Methodology

• Selection criteria: The study involved 13 adult horses, aged over 3 years, which were deemed healthy through a thorough physical examination, complete blood count (CBC), thoracic radiography, and thoracic ultrasonography before anesthetic application.
• Anesthesia Procedure: After the initial examination, the subjects underwent general anesthesia for elective MRI.
• Post-Anesthesia Procedure: Thoracic ultrasonography was conducted within a 3-hour timeframe after the horses recovered from anesthesia.
• Scoring System Application: The ultrasonographic findings were scored and compared before and after administering anesthesia using a newly developed scoring system.

Findings

• Stability in Ultrasonography Scores: The study discovered no significant variation in the total thoracic ultrasonography scores pre and post-anesthesia.
• No Correlation to External Factors: It was found that there was no relationship between the thoracic ultrasonography score after anesthesia and the horse’s body weight, the duration the horse stayed recumbent, and the side that was dependent.
• Unchanged Thoracic Ultrasonographic Findings: Importantly, there were no substantial changes observed in the thoracic ultrasonographic findings of the healthy horses 3 hours after they recovered from anesthesia.

Implications

• Guidance for Clinical Decisions: These findings could be very valuable to clinicians when assessing the clinical importance of any changes in the horse’s lung, as observed on the ultrasonography, in the immediate period following anesthesia.
• Basis for Future Studies: This research can also serve as a basis for further investigations aimed at examining the effects of anesthesia in horses, and even potentially in other animals and humans.