N1033787
clinical signs compatible with cognitive dysfunction. Zanghi et al( 2016) indicated from their study that rather than age, it was instead cognitive status that was primarily associated with changes in core body temperature. As this was not considered or investigated in the current study, further investigations should be undertaken to determine whether cognitive dysfunction directly influences the body temperature changes in anaesthetised dogs.
5.3 Interpretation of recumbency affecting body temperature The results of the current study did not show any significant correlation between the recumbency of the patient during the scan and a decrease in body temperature. It should be noted that the recumbency groups were not evenly weighted, with around 67.67 % of dogs being in dorsal recumbency, 30.3 % of dogs placed in sternal recumbency and only 2 % in the group where the patient had to be moved to a different recumbency during it’ s time in the MRI suite, as this may have influenced the significance of these results. A study by Redondo et al( 2012) which investigated the prevalence of postanaesthetic hypothermia in dogs did briefly compare recumbencies and how they affected dog’ s body temperatures. It is worth mentioning that this study investigated other various factors that may have had additional influence on the occurrence of perioperative hypothermia, such as:
• Variables related to the animals signalment( baseline temperature and body surface)
• Variables associated with the physical condition and intervention( ASA score, reason for anaesthesia and recumbency during the anaesthetic)
• The duration of the procedure( pre-anaesthetic time and duration of the anaesthesia). The results of the study did show that animals placed in sternal or dorsal recumbency showed lower temperatures that those in lateral, with both having a higher percentage of dogs showing hypothermia( either slight, moderate, or severe). Similar to the current study however, the size of the recumbency groups in the study by Redondo et al( 2012) were also not evenly weighted, as around 63 % of the dogs were in lateral recumbency, 27 % in dorsal and only 8 % in sternal. To truly determine whether recumbency directly affects the body temperature of anaesthetised dogs, a more standardised investigation with less variables should be undertaken.
ANIM32126 – EBVN Project 28