N1033787
5.0 Discussion
The aims of this study were to investigate factors that may influence the body temperature of anaesthetised dogs undergoing MRI investigations at Wear Referrals. A total of 99 dogs were enrolled on the study, consisting of 33 breeds, and small, medium, and large crossbreeds. The study found that the BCS of the dog and length of scan time all had a statistically significant effect on the decrease of patient’ s body temperature. The patients age, their recumbency in the scanner and premedication combination were not statistically significant and were shown to have no influence on patient’ s body temperature.
5.1 Interpretation of BCS affecting body temperature The results of this study found a statistically significant correlation between patient’ s BCS and a difference in their body temperature with a negative correlation coefficient, meaning that the higher BCS a dog had, the less of a decrease occurred in their body temperatures. The average decrease in temperature of dogs with a BCS 6-9, 4-5 and 1-3 was 1.2 ° C, 1.4 ° C and 2 ° C respectively. This finding is consistent with that of Davis, Cummings, and Payton( 2017), who found a positive association between BCS and resting body temperature, suggesting that excessive weight( BCS 6 or above) inhibits heat dissipation. They state that subcutaneous fat may have an insulating effect that can reduce heat loss through the skin( Davis, Cummings, and Payton, 2017), which could indicate that whilst anaesthetised, dogs of a higher BCS may be able to prevent heat loss better than those of a normal or lower BCS( 5 or less), consistent with the findings of the present study. It was found in another study( Piccione et al, 2011) that obese dogs had lower rectal temperatures than lean dogs. This differed to the findings presented here which found that the average rectal temperature( taken just after induction) of dogs with a BCS greater than 5( 6-9) was 38.8 ° C, higher than those with ideal( 4-5) or under ideal BCS, which both had averages of 38.2 ° C. It is worth noting however that the study by Piccione et al( 2011) and the current study do differ in cohort, cohort size and methodology, which could explain the difference in results. In the study by Clarke-Price et al( 2021), they compared the BCS scoring system in dogs to the body mass index used in humans, and state that humans with a lower body mass index lose heat faster than those with a high body mass index in the first 30-60 minutes of anaesthesia. Their study however, found that there was no significant association between BCS and a
ANIM32126 – EBVN Project 26