All About the Pain Train: Safe Analgesia in the ER

Veterinarians are faced with clinical challenges every day with the goal of solving diagnostic dilemmas, reducing morbidity and mortality, and ultimately restoring patient health. One of the most challenging issues we face is determining the best sedation and/or anesthesia protocol for the sick, small animal patient. The objective of this lecture is to provide a clinical tool for understanding common sedation and/or anesthesia options for veterinary patients. Regardless of the presenting complaint, an important concept to remember when approaching any emergency patient is a rapid primary survey, keeping in mind the ABCDs of evaluation and resuscitation. Briefly, "A" refers to Airway or Arterial Bleeding. "B", Breathing is equally important assessing the character of the patient's respirations. “C" refers to Circulation and the overall perfusion status of the patient. Finally, “D" refers to Disability notably the patients mental status.