Last year, we assisted Dr. Michael Court of Washington State University Vet School on a study he was doing with sighthound anesthesia sensitivities. You can read more about his study here.
We have provided Dr. Court with enough samples for his initial study, but he is still interested in receiving cheek swab samples from dogs that have experienced slow/rough anesthetic recovery following an injectable anesthetic. Dr. Court writes, “The anesthetics I am most interested in are ketamine, Telazol, propofol, alfaxalone, thiopental, and thiamylal. The latter two are not used in the USA any more but are still used in other countries – for example I am currently in contact with an owner of a pet greyhound in Australia who had a prolonged (>48 hours) recovery associated with thiopental anesthesia.”
Dr. Court would also be interested in samples from any dogs that have experienced hyperthermia. Although it is not currently an active project, if he gets enough samples he could apply for a research grant to look at that problem.
If Dr. Court already has a cheek swab sample from your dog, please keep Dr. Court’s lab apprised of any problems your dog has when anesthetized. To update your dog’s health information, or if you have a dog that has had a problem with anesthesia, whether a prolonged recovery or hyperthermia, please contact his lab at courtlab “at” vetmed.wsu.edu for a cheek swab kit.