Client information and consent

Please CLICK HERE to access a form to provide to your client prior to the scan. This covers important information regarding fasting, clipping and the risks of sedation/GA and needle aspirate collection. Ideally, this would be provided to the client at the time the scan is first recommended. Forms should be read and signed by the client, indicating their consent for clipping, sedation or anaesthetic and for collection of needle aspirates as necessary. A completed consent form should be collected upon admission of the patient to the vet clinic. MMVS will retain a copy of the completed form.

Patient preparation

Fasting

Patients should be fasted for abdominal scans in order to reduce food and gas interference with the ultrasound, unless contraindicated. Water should be available to patients until dropped off at the clinic. Any patient undergoing deep sedation or anaesthesia should be fasted from the night before, unless contraindicated.

Clipping

Patients undergoing abdominal scans should be clipped from the second last rib to the front of each thigh laterally, and to the pubis ventrally. The clip should cover the abdomen and extend up to the dorsal flanks on either side.

Sedation/Anaesthesia

Please have the discussion with your client about the potential need for sedation or anaesthesia for particularly anxious or wriggly pets or for those requiring needle aspirates. Sedation/Anaesthesia will be performed by the vet on duty and monitored as per your clinic’s usual procedures. As a guide, if a patient is uncooperative or distressed by clipping, then sedation is indicated. Most cats will require some level of sedation.

Sedative options include one or sometimes a combination of: oral trazodone and/or gabapentin*, IV butorphanol 0.1-0.3mg/kg, ACP/opioid, midazolam/opioid or medetomidine/opioid dose. Consider whether sedative choice allows for subsequent induction of deeper sedation or brief general anaesthesia, with medetomidine, Alfaxan or Propofol, if required to facilitate FNA/centesis collection where patient movement is an unacceptable risk. Drugs which induce panting and altered GI motility should be avoided if possible. Benefit of sedation/anaesthesia should outweigh risks and this should take into account the general health of the animal.

* See Vet Practice Support Website article regarding Gabapentin as a sedative/anxiolytic prior to ultrasound in cats.