A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH GENERAL-ANESTHESIAIN HORSES - ELECTIVE PROCEDURES

A retrospective analysis examined mortality associated with all proced ures requiring general anaesthetic, performed at the Philip Leverhulme Large Animal Teaching Hospital, during the five-year period from Febr uary 1991 to December 1995, The study involved details relating to 227 6 equine general anaesthetics and a variety of patient variables were examined, Within a group of 1279 animals undergoing anaesthesia for el ective procedures, 46 (3.6 per cent) died or were euthanased owing to a poor prognosis or financial implications. Mortality relating directl y to the surgery or anaesthesia occurred in eight of these cases, Ther efore, the surgical/anaesthetic death rate was 0.63 per cent, Death wh ich was apparently attributable directly to the anaesthesia (no organi c cause of death found at postmortem examination) occurred only once,g iving an anaesthetic death rate of 0.08 per cent.