title: Postanesthetic cerebellar dysfunction in cats.
abstract: Eleven cats with signs of cerebellar dysfunction, developed on recovery from a brief and uneventful general anesthesia, were examined at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital (KSVMTH) between 1998 and 2002. Neurological signs included mild to severe ataxia of all 4 limbs, intentional tremor, lack of menace response, and delayed hopping. The cats were of different ages when anesthetized and none had shown any prior signs of neural disease. They were examined 1 day to 4 years after onset of clinical signs, and the neurological deficits remained unchanged in a follow-up period of 6 months to 8 years. Medical and anesthetic records showed that all were Persian cross cats, 7 of them originating in the same city in Israel. Ketamine was the only anesthetic drug that had been used with all cats. It might be that a genetic component predisposes Persian cross cats to nonreversible cerebellar damage after exposure to an anesthetic dose of ketamine.
authors.affiliation: Neurology and Neurosurgery Department, Koret School of Veterinanry Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel. Shamir@agri.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Merav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shamir
authors.forename: Gadi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Goelman
authors.forename: Orit
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chai
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000662:veterinary*; D000778:Anesthetics, Dissociative / Q000009:adverse effects; D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002415:Cats / Q000601:surgery*; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D007649:Ketamine / Q000009:adverse effects; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D011996:Records / Q000662:veterinary; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000778:Anesthetics, Dissociative; D007649:Ketamine