Pre-Anaesthetic Blood Tests

Every pet that requires and anaesthetic receives a full physical exam at Weston Creek Veterinary Hospital.

However, this can sometimes not be sufficient to detect problems with organ function, which can increase the risk of anaesthesia.

So we can minimise this risk by doing a blood test known as a PAP (Pre-Anaesthetic Blood Profile) that allows us to check the liver and kidney function, red blood cell levels and electrolyte and protein levels. This is especially important in animals that are older (over 8 years of age) or ill as these patients are more likely to have abnormalities.

The test requires only a small blood sample (approximately 0.7ml) and the results are obtained within 10 minutes. This allows us to run tests on the morning of admission and get results before any sedatives or other medications are administered.

What if abnormalities are detected?
One of our veterinarians will contact you about any problems and decide with you if it is safe to continue with the procedure or not. Often with adjustments to the drugs used, use of intravenous fluid therapy and post operative medications we can continue with the procedure as planned. Once a problem is detected we can also monitor these and if necessary do further diagnostic tests to treat these more specifically.

Need more information?
We have brochures describing each of the tests in the pre-anaesthetic test panel, as well as for some of the other blood testing we routinely conduct at the Hospital. Please ask one of our receptionists for a copy of this information if you are interested.