Assessment of v-gel supraglottic airway device placement in cats performed by inexperienced veterinary students.

Endotracheal intubation has been associated with several complications in cats. The v-gel supraglottic airway device (SGAD) has been developed to adapt to the unique oropharynx of the cat and to overcome these complications. Thirty-three cats were randomly assigned to receive an endotracheal tube (ETT group) or a v-gel SGAD (v-gel group) after induction of general anaesthesia. Third year veterinary students without previous clinical experience placed these devices under direct supervision of an anaesthesiologist. Amount of propofol, number of attempts, time required to secure the airway, leakage around the device, signs of upper airway discomfort and food consumption were compared between the two groups. The v-gel group required less propofol (P=0.03), less time (P<0.01) and fewer attempts (P<0.01) to secure the cats' airway. The incidence of leakage was lower for the v-gel group immediately after placement of the device (P<0.01) and 60 minutes after induction of general anaesthesia (P=0.04). Cats that received the v-gel SGAD presented a lower incidence of upper airway discomfort immediately after the device was removed (P=0.03) and recorded a higher food consumption score (P=0.03). The v-gel SGAD is a feasible way to secure the airway of healthy cats when performed by inexperienced personnel.

The effect of midazolam on the recovery quality, recovery time and the minimum alveolar concentration for extubation in the isoflurane-anesthetized pig.

There are no reported studies evaluating the effect of midazolam on recovery quality, recovery time or minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) at which extubation occurs (MAC extubation). Our hypotheses were that midazolam administered prior to recovery would decrease MAC extubation, prolong recovery time but provide a smoother recovery. Sixteen Yorkshire pigs were anesthetized with isoflurane for approximately 5 h. The end-tidal isoflurane concentration was then stabilized at 1.4% for 20 min. Pigs were randomly assigned to receive midazolam or saline. The vaporizer was decreased by 10% every 10 min until extubation. Pigs were declared awake by a blinded observer and were assigned a recovery score by the same observer. Mean MAC extubation was not significantly different for pigs receiving saline prior to recovery compared with those pigs receiving midazolam. The overall mean MAC extubation for both groups was 0.6 ± 0.4 vol%. Time to extubation was not significantly longer with midazolam (124 ± 36 min) compared with the saline group (96 ± 61 min; P = 0.09). Recovery score was not significantly different between groups (midazolam, 0.86 ± 1.1; saline 0.5 ± 0.5; P = 0.26). In conclusion, midazolam did not affect MAC extubation. There was no advantage of administering midazolam in the recovery period when performing step-down titration of isoflurane anesthesia.