Should my pet have a blood test before they have their anaesthetic?

If your pet is requiring an anaesthetic, we sometimes recommend that a blood test is performed on the morning of a procedure. This is an article discussing why this might be important for your pet.

We are usually able to take a small sample of blood from your pet and analyse it in our own lab within minutes on the morning of a planned procedure. In some cases, we may require more specialised testing, so we may need to send a sample to an external laboratory prior to the day of the procedure to allow everything to run smoothly on the day.

Our in-house analyser can measure quantities of certain biochemical markers in the sample and compare them to a range of normal values. Values outside the normal range may mean we advise further investigations or changes to their anaesthetic plan. We are also able to analyse your pet’s blood cells to make sure they are not anaemic and to check their inflammatory cell profile.

A urine sample can often be very helpful to analyse alongside the blood results; we will let you know if this is the case for your pet.

Whether we recommend a blood test prior to anaesthetic will depend on many factors, including:

• The age of your pet - animals over the age of seven are more likely to have underlying health issues.

• Their health status - any known or suspected changes to their health

• The procedure that is planned

• Recovery from previous anaesthetics

We will ask you lots of questions during your consultation(s) to check there are no warning signs of disease, which may affect our use of sedation or anaesthesia. It is more tricky because our patients cannot tell us how they are feeling!

We will perform a physical examination prior to anaesthesia, but in some cases, we will recommend your pet has a blood test before their procedure. There are some conditions that cannot be diagnosed without blood analysis, and we know that early detection of these will lead to better management of these conditions.

It is normal for owners to feel apprehensive prior to their pet having an anaesthetic, especially if they are ill or elderly. A pre-anaesthesia blood test may help to ensure the procedure is as safe as possible. Even if we advise that a blood test is not essential, we are able to do this to help reassure you if you have particular concerns. Please discuss this with your clinician.

If we are happy with the blood test results, then we are able to proceed as planned. The record of these results also gives us a useful baseline for your individual pet, which will be helpful if they become unwell in the future. If there are any changes we would recommend, we will contact you to discuss these.

If you are a client at Coquet Vets and this article has raised any concerns or questions, don’t hesitate to call us on 01665 252250 or email us at info@coquetvets.co.uk