What do we know about the use of EEG monitoring during equine anesthesia: A review

Abstract

Electroencephalography is a noninvasive method used for the measurement of central nervous system bioelectrical activity. Besides its use for neurological disorders diagnostics in humans and animals, it was found to be useful as a part of the anesthetic monitoring. Introducing the electroencephalography (EEG) measurement intraoperatively in humans and in animals, due to its high specificity and sensitivity (limited number of wave patterns and high number of variabilities influencing them), with comparison to cardiovascular parameters might significantly increase the quality of anesthesia. The use of EEG during equine anesthesia may help to maintain a proper depth of anesthesia in this species. Due to the fact that EEG analyzers were designed for humans, there are still limitations of their use in horses, and different methods of analysis are studied. The paper introduces the physiology of EEG, its use in animals during anesthesia, and specification for horses.