Risk and error in veterinary practice – Anaesthesia

Reducing errors in veterinary practice

• Santos, L.C.P. et. al. (2025) Assessment of support structures for second victims in veterinary anaesthesia: building on insights from an international survey – Part 2. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaa.2025.03.016
• Rose, N. et. al. (2024) A retrospective study of perianesthetic and sedation deaths in dogs and cats submitted to Canadian veterinary diagnostic laboratories. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 65 (11), pp. 1157–1164. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11486110/
• Magaña, E.Z.H. et. al. (2025) Inter-observer agreement in classifying anesthetic deaths in cats and dogs. BMC Veterinary Research, 21, no. 121. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04589-z
• Brodbelt, D.C. et al. (2008) The risk of death: the confidential enquiry into perioperative small animal fatalities. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 35 (5), pp. 365-373. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-2995.2008.00397.x
• Brodbelt, D.C. et al. (2007) Risk factors for anaesthetic-related death in cats: results from the confidential enquiry into perioperative small animal fatalities (CEPSAF). British Journal of Anaesthesia, 99 (5), pp. 617-623. https://doi.org/10.1093/bja/aem229
• Brodbelt, D.C. et al. (2008) Results of the confidential enquiry into perioperative small animal fatalities regarding risk factors for anesthetic-related death in dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 233 (7), pp. 1096-1104. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.233.7.1096
• Hubbell, J.A.E., Muir, W.W. and Hopster, K. (2022) Rethinking equine anaesthetic risk: development of a novel Combined Horse Anaesthetic Risk Identification and Optimisation tool (CHARIOT). Equine Veterinary  Education, 34 (3) , pp. 134-140. https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.13563
• Johnston, G.M. et al. (2002) The confidential enquiry into perioperative equine fatalities (CEPEF): mortality results of Phases 1 and 2. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 29 (4), pp. 159-170. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-2995.2002.00106.x
• Loomes, K. (2022) Evaluating equine anaesthetic risk.  UK-Vet Equine, 6(4), pp. 151-158. https://doi.org/10.12968/ukve.2022.6.4.151
• Dugdale, A.H., Obhrai, J. and Cripps, P.J. (2016) Twenty years later: a single-centre, repeat retrospective analysis of equine perioperative mortality and investigation of recovery quality. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 43 (2), pp. 171-178. https://doi.org/10.1111/vaa.12285
• Hollwarth, A.J. et al (2022) Mortality outcomes based on ASA grade in avian patients undergoing general. Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, 41, pp. 14-19. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2022.02.001
• McMillan, M.W. and Lehnus, K.S. (2018) Systems analysis of voluntary reported anaesthetic safety incidents occurring in a university teaching hospital. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 45 (1), pp. 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaa.2017.06.007
• Hartnack, S. et al. (2013) Critical incidence reporting systems–an option in equine anaesthesia? Results from a panel meeting. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 40 (6), pp. e3-e8. https://doi.org/10.1111/vaa.12065
• McMillan, M. and Darcy, H. (2016) Adverse event surveillance in small animal anaesthesia: an intervention-based, voluntary reporting audit. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 43 (2), pp. 128-135. https://doi.org/10.1111/vaa.12309
• Hofmeister, E.H. et al. (2014) Development, implementation and impact of simple patient safety interventions in a university teaching hospital. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 41 (3), pp. 243-248. https://doi.org/10.1111/vaa.12124
• Brashear, M. (2022) How to reduce anaesthetic risk in geriatric patients. The Veterinary Nurse, 13 (1), pp. 36-40. https://doi.org/10.12968/vetn.2022.13.1.36
• McMillan, M. (2014) Checklists in veterinary anaesthesia: why bother (editorial). Veterinary Record, 175 (22), pp. 556-559. https://org/10.1136/vr.g7515
• Menoud, G. et al. (2018) Development and implementation of a perianesthetic safety checklist in a veterinary university small animal teaching hospital. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 5: 60. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00060
• Mair, A. (2020) Using checklists to improve patient safety during anaesthesia. In Practice, 42 (6), pp. 316-322. https://doi.org/10.1136/inp.m2286
• Portier, K. and Ida, K.K. (2018) The ASA Physical Status Classification: what is the evidence for recommending its use in veterinary anesthesia?—A systematic review. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 5: 204. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00204
• Guidelines for safer anaesthesia
• Anaesthesia records & checklists
• Kelly, F.E. et al. (2023) Human factors in anaesthesia: a narrative review. Anaesthesia. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.15920
• Kelly, F.E. et al. (2023) Implementing human factors in anaesthesia: guidance for clinicians, departments and hospitals. Anaesthesia. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.15941