Anesthesia and Surgery in USDA Covered Non-rodent Species

IACUC Policy: 043-05, Effective Date: 07/13/2012, Last Revision: 05/17/2024

Overview/Purpose

USDA covered species may be placed under anesthesia for a variety of reasons including performance of procedures, survival surgery, or imaging. Animals must be properly managed during the recovery period to ensure return to normal physiologic status. Documentation of proper monitoring should include visual observations, measurements of physiologic parameters (e.g. heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature), and/or the administration of agents (e.g. fluid support, analgesia).  Anesthetic or anesthesia recovery events lasting more than 30 minutes should utilize anesthesia and recovery records. Anesthesia and recovery records must be available upon request for various inspection needs such as IACUC and USDA.

In addition, survival surgery in USDA covered species must be completed using aseptic technique, gentle tissue handling, and proper post-operative care in accordance with applicable governmental regulations. Facilities must be appropriate for survival surgery in USDA species per regulations, and investigators must adhere to the minimum standards addressed in this policy.

Definitions

• Procedure: Animal manipulations that do not require a skin incision but may cause an animal a level of pain, suffering or distress equivalent to or greater than the introduction of a hypodermic needle.
• Surgery: Animal manipulation specifically involving the creation of an incision through the skin
• Major Survival Surgery: Penetrates and exposes a body cavity, produces substantial impairment of physical or physiologic functions, or involves extensive tissue dissections or transection.
• USDA Species: Warm-blooded vertebrate species except birds, lab rats/mice (Rattus and Mus), and farm animals/horses used for agriculture research and teaching.

Requirements

Training

Research personnel administering anesthesia must have appropriate training in advance of the scheduled event in addition to survival surgery training when applicable. Animal Handling and Technique Training is available at no charge through University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR) and/or through consultation with the attending veterinarian. 

Anesthesia

Anesthetic selection is evaluated during the IACUC protocol approval process and additional veterinary consultation is available at all times. Assessment of the animal’s physiologic condition and plane of anesthesia (immobilization versus surgical plane) must occur at least every 15 minutes throughout the procedure. At a minimum, vital signs such as heart and respiratory rates should be recorded unless collection of such data is not appropriate for that species and setting as directed by the veterinarian. Body temperature must also be recorded when an animal is maintained under general anesthesia for recovery surgical procedures.

Post-operative/Anesthesia Care

Animal care following anesthetic events must include monitoring, record keeping, and documentation of any treatments given and physiologic parameters. Study team personnel must provide the animal care unless arrangements have been made with ULAR in advance. The frequency of required observation is dependent on the phase of recovery. The  veterinary staff must be informed of any post-operative complications.

• Continuous monitoring (heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature) and supportive care must be provided for all animals until the animal can maintain sternal upright positioning and has been extubated (removal of the endotracheal tube) when applicable.
• All animals must be visually monitored every 15 minutes until physiologic parameters (respiratory rate, heart rate and temperature unless collection of such data is not feasible for that species and setting) have returned to levels indicating recovery from anesthesia.
• Following anesthetic recovery animals must be observed as described in the animal use protocol.
• Animals undergoing surgery must be observed daily for 5 days then as needed until surgical wounds have healed. Special attention should be made to physiologic functions as well as behavioral signs of post- procedural/operative pain, infection, and wound dehiscence. Non-absorbable suture and staples must be removed by day 14 or as directed by the attending veterinarian. A notation in the animal record is sufficient for record keeping purposes.

Record Keeping

Investigators must maintain accurate records of anesthesia, surgery, and post-operative care, including analgesic administration. Anesthesia and post-operative care records must provide documentation of animal evaluation. Surgical records must document the procedures performed, date, and identify the surgeon and anesthesiologist. Appropriate record keeping should include the anatomic location of administration and volume of anesthetic when using regional and local anesthesia. Records must be available during the semiannual IACUC inspection and maintained per OSU Records Retention Policy by the principal investigator.  

Location for Surgery

Survival surgeries must be done in one of the following dedicated surgical facilities; Wiseman Experimental Surgery (ULAR), CVM or OARDC    Operating Rooms. Exceptions, if justified as an essential component of the research protocol, must have IACUC approval and veterinary oversight under the direction of the OAV office.

Aseptic Technique

Aseptic technique must be followed for all survival surgeries. All surgical equipment, implanted material, instruments, and supplies that will come in contact with the surgical site and field must be sterilized before use in survival surgery. All members of the surgical team, who will come into contact with the sterile field, sterile instruments and/or sterile equipment, must properly scrub hands and wear sterile surgical gloves and a sterile gown, surgical face mask and bonnet. Instruments must be  replaced and/or hands re-gloved following contact with non-sterile surfaces. Hair/fur must be removed, and the surgical site prepared aseptically using acceptable veterinary practices (e.g. scrubbed three times with a skin disinfectant, such as chlorohexidine or iodophors, alternating each disinfectant scrub with a scrub of sterile water or 70% isopropyl alcohol).

Analgesia

Analgesia must be provided to animals that are likely to experience post procedural pain; exceptions must be approved by the IACUC. Unless the contrary is established, investigators should consider that procedures that cause pain or distress in humans may cause pain or distress in other animals. Investigators are responsible for the assessment and management of pain in their research animals and must include a plan for pain management in their IACUC protocol.

Multiple Major Surgery

Multiple major survival surgery on a single animal must be clearly described in the animal protocol and approved by IACUC. Scientific justification must be provided.

References

• Animal Care and Use Policies and Guidelines 
• Disinfectant and Sterilization Methods