Remote monitoring of neuraxial function in anesthetized dogs in compression chambers

This paper describes the development of an electrophysiological model using spinal and cortical evoked potentials (SEP, CEP), for the diagnosis and monitoring of spinal cord decompression sickness (DCS) in anesthetized dogs. A comparison of alpha-chloralose with sodium pentobarbital showed that the latter caused a reduction in CEP amplitude. Continuous observation of EPs over 5 h showed a small reduction and an increasing variance of amplitude with time. The effectiveness of the method in the diagnosis of DCS and in studies of the adequacy of treatment is illustrated with several examples.