Dodgy dogs and complex cats – anaesthesia in comorbid patients

General anaesthesia carries an inherent but relatively low risk of death in all species. The presence of comorbidities, such as cardiac disease and endocrinopathies increase anaesthetic risk; however, with an understanding of how to manage these conditions and adapt our anaesthetic management accordingly, we can mitigate some risk and improve patient outcomes. This case-based session explore how commonly encountered problems, including acquired cardiac disease, diabetes mellitus, impact the way we manage anaesthesia in our patients and how best to handle them in practice!

• - To understand how the presence of concurrent disease can impact anaesthetic risk and the way we manage these patients in the perioperative period.
• - Understand the approach to anaesthetic management patients with acquired cardiac disease, including mitral valve disease and HCM.
• - Feel confident in managing diabetic dogs in the perioperative period, including fasting times, drug selection and intra-operative monitoring.