General anaesthesia in non-human great apes: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Anesthesiology
• Primate Medicine
• Wildlife Health

Background:

• Anesthesia in great apes is crucial for both human care and free-ranging populations.
• Understanding anesthesia-related risks requires comprehensive literature analysis.
• Identifying knowledge gaps is essential for improving anesthetic protocols and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize existing literature on great ape anesthesia.
• To identify anesthesia-related risks and compare them with domestic species and humans.
• To pinpoint knowledge gaps in current research regarding great ape anesthesia.

Main Methods:

• Conducted extensive literature searches across multiple databases (CAB Abstracts, MEDLINE, Zoological Record).
• Included conference proceedings from major zoo and wildlife veterinary associations.
• Analyzed 142 studies, focusing on peer-reviewed articles and conference abstracts.

Main Results:

• Most studies were case reports; data on bonobos, eastern gorillas, and Sumatran orangutans were scarce.
• Infant and free-ranging great ape anesthesia were underrepresented in the literature.
• Frequent anesthetic drugs included ketamine and isoflurane, but adverse event reporting was poor, limiting reproducibility.

Conclusions:

• This is the first evidence synthesis on great ape general anesthesia.
• Highlights the urgent need for targeted research on underrepresented great ape species.
• Emphasizes the necessity for improved reporting of anesthesia practices and adverse events in veterinary literature.