Retrospective study of the prevalence of factors contributing to successful standing at first attempt in horses recovering from general anesthesia.
Abstract: Several factors affect the quality of recovery from general anesthesia in horses. These can increase the likelihood of injury. Body and limb position during recovery may correlate with successful standing. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of and the factors associated with successful standing at the first attempt in horses undergoing general anesthesia. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Video of recovery and anesthetic records from 221 equine patients were reviewed by six veterinary students. Cases with poor video quality or incomplete anesthetic records were excluded. Demographic variables, type of procedure, perioperative drugs administered, assistance during recovery and body and limb positions during the first attempt to stand were recorded. Association between putative variables (including specific descriptors for body and limb position) and success for standing were analyzed using backward logistic regression; significance was set at 0.05. A decision tree for a successful attempt was created to predict the outcome of a recovery attempt based on these variables. Results: Extension of the carpal joints, head and neck alignment with the thoracic limbs, greater time in lateral recumbency, coordination during sternal recumbency, longer time to first attempt to stand and pelvic limb position were associated with successful standing at the first attempt. The association between extension of the carpal joints with wide base positioning of the pelvic limbs provided the best success rate for standing, whereas the association of flexed carpal joints and head and neck orientation different from the thoracic limbs resulted in a worse success rate. Conclusions: Results suggest that certain limb and body positions displayed by horses during recovery may be associated with the likelihood of successful standing at the first attempt. These variables may be useful for assessing recovery quality in future research.
Copyright © 2021 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2021-11-03 PubMed ID: 34893433DOI: 10.1016/j.vaa.2021.10.005Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research article studies the prevalence and factors associated with the successful standing at first attempt in horses recovering from general anesthesia, revealing that body and limb positions during recovery play a significant role.
Methodology
- This study was retrospective in nature and involved analysing video recordings of recovery periods and anesthetic records from 221 equine patients.
- Six veterinary students reviewed the cases and excluded any whose video quality was poor or whose anesthetic records were incomplete.
- The team recorded demographic variables such as the type of procedure, drugs administered perioperatively, assistance during recovery, and body and limb positions at the first attempt to stand.
- A backward logistic regression method was used to analyze the association between various variables (including specific descriptors for body and limb position) and success at first attempt standing. Significance was set at 0.05.
- Using these variables, the team created a decision tree model to predict the outcome of a recovery attempt.
Results
- The factors associated with successful standing at first attempt were identified as the extension of the carpal joints, alignment of head and neck with the thoracic limbs, more time spent in lateral recumbency, better coordination during sternal recumbency, longer time to the first attempt to stand, and the positioning of the pelvic limb.
- Greatest success in standing was achieved when the extension of the carpal joints was associated with a wide base positioning of the pelvic limbs.
- Conversely, the worst outcomes were associated when flexed carpal joints were coupled with a head and neck orientation different from the thoracic limbs.
Conclusions
- The findings of this study suggest that the body and limb positions displayed by horses during recovery from anesthesia can indicate the likelihood of a successful first attempt at standing.
- Such variables may prove helpful in assessing the quality of recovery in future research.
Cite This Article
APA
de Miguel Garcia C, Campoy L, Parry SA, Martin-Flores M, Gleed RD.
(2021).
Retrospective study of the prevalence of factors contributing to successful standing at first attempt in horses recovering from general anesthesia.
Vet Anaesth Analg, 49(1), 95-103.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaa.2021.10.005 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Section of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
- Section of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Electronic address: lc268@cornell.edu.
- Cornell Statistical Consulting Unit, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
- Section of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
- Section of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Anesthesia Recovery Period
- Anesthesia, General / veterinary
- Animals
- Forelimb
- Horses
- Prevalence
- Retrospective Studies
Citations
This article has been cited 1 times.- Román Durá B, Dunham O, Grulke S, Salciccia A, Dupont J, Sandersen C. A Retrospective Study on Pre- and Intraoperative Predictors on the Recovery Quality of Horses After General Anesthesia. Vet Sci 2025 Mar 11;12(3).
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