Total Intravenous Anaesthesia - Where are we

Total intravenous anaesthesia consists of providing general anaesthesia using only intravenous-based agents. Those differ with species and the cost. While in equine patients, ketamine-based anaesthesia is most common, propofol and, more recently, alfaxalone have taken the lead in small animals. To minimise the quantity of agents used and associated side effects, as for the inhalants, balanced anaesthesia is essential and analgesic agents and muscle relaxants are added as required. Different administration methods have been developed since the use of intravenous agents, going from the simple bolus injection and the constant rate infusion to the more complicated pharmacokinetically-based and computer-driven target-controlled infusion system.