What is pre-anaesthetic blood testing, and why do we offer it prior to a procedure?
There are two main indications:
Detecting disease that may complicate anaesthesia and recovery in our patients. If we can detect disease prior to a procedure, we can discuss any increased risks with you as an owner, as well as tailor our anaesthetic plan to decrease the likelihood of anaesthetic or recovery complications. In other words, it can make the procedure safer.
Providing a baseline of "normal" values for our patients. This can be very useful when we see a patient subsequently, for sickness - we can compare any abnormal values to the set of values we have from a time they were healthy.
See below, two examples of recent blood panels, one of a diabetic cat, and another of a dog with liver disease.
