General Anesthesia Effect on Acid Base and Serum Calcium and Phosphorus Levels in Relation to Anesthetic Risk in Dogs

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of general anesthesia on selected blood parameters in 53 surgical patients belonging to five ASA groups. The venous blood pH during the preoperative period was under physiological values only in the ASA V group of dogs. The lowest average values of pH levels were found in all ASA groups during the 30th minute of the surgical procedure. The pre-operative measurements revealed the average concentration of calcium in the blood serum below the physiological range in the groups with higher anesthetic risk, ASA III, IV and V. Most dogs with hypocalcemia during the whole monitored period were in the ASA III group (69.2%). After premedication and sedation a decrease in the concentration of calcium in all groups was observed, except for the ASA IV group. Changes in the concentration of calcium were significant in the ASA II group (P ≤ 0.01). Between the groups, there were no significant differences reported in calcium concentrations during the monitored period. The lowest average value of phosphorus concentration was recorded in the ASA III group and the highest in the ASA V group. In the postoperative period the increase in phosphorus concentrations was observed in all groups except ASA III. Acidaemia, hypocalcaemia and hyperphosphatemia may present a potential risk mostly in endangered animals, so additional monitoring of these parameters, along with commonly used anesthetic monitoring, is essential and might be significantly helpful.