Key points:

• Mortality risk is approximately 0.05 to 0.1% for healthy patients. The complication rate is much higher.
• The majority of anaesthesia deaths occur during recovery and maintenance of anaesthesia, when monitoring may be lacking.
• The principal mortality risk factors are: physical status (ASA), age, lack of monitoring, some breeds and endotracheal intubation in cats.
• Death is far from being the only complication of anaesthesia. The main complications are: hypotension, hypothermia, hypoxemia and hypoventilation.
• Other reported complications include: regurgitation, aspiration pneumonia, corneal ulcers and blindness in cats.
• Untreated pain can also put the patient’s health in danger.

2016.2.29