Retrospective Analysis of Isoflurane Anesthesia–Associated Mortality in Inland Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) from 2002 to 2022: 40 Cases

Abstract Anesthesia is often pursued to facilitate diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in reptile species. Despite this, there are no data on the safety of inhalant anesthesia in inland bearded dragons ( Pogona vitticeps ). In this retrospective study, medical records of inland bearded dragons presenting to a single academic institution and delivered isoflurane anesthesia between 1 February 2002 and 31 August 2022 were collected. Cases were excluded if isoflurane anesthesia was only used before euthanasia. Data collected included retroactive American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) status, survival status 3 days after the anesthetic event, procedures performed, anesthetic complications, and time under isoflurane anesthesia. During the inclusion period, 445 inland bearded dragons were presented to the institution in 948 visits. Of these visits, 40 inhalant anesthetic events performed on 34 inland bearded dragons were included in this study. The most common procedures performed were ovariosalpingectomy (15/40, 37.5%); exploratory celiotomy (3/40, 7.5%); mass removal (7/40, 17.5%); and limb, toe, or tail amputations (8/40, 20%). All 40 cases recovered from inhalant anesthesia and survived to discharge. The most common anesthetic-associated complication reported was prolonged recovery (4/40, 10%), and most anesthetic events (30/40, 75%) were ≤1 h in duration. ASA status ranged from I to IV, with most cases assigned ASA status III (18/40, 45%). Information on survival status at 3 days postanesthetic event was available in 35 (70%) of 40 cases, and all but 1 (34/35, 97.1%) of these cases survived. Overall, our single-institution retrospective data support that isoflurane anesthesia was associated with low morbidity and mortality in inland bearded dragons undergoing a variety of procedures. Further multi-institutional studies should be pursued to validate these findings against a broader population size by using prospectively assigned ASA status.