citation_inspection: 46

Availability of appropriate equipment. 1. On 9/3/14 a rabbit died while under general anesthesia for an IACUC approved research activity when the ventilator abruptly malfunctioned. The rabbit experienced serious respiratory effects and died despite the immediate efforts of the AV to resuscitate the animal. The unexpected death of the rabbit during general anesthesia was reported to the IACUC by the investigator the following day. As a result of being informed of the rabbit's unexpected death, the IACUC conducted an investigation and concluded that the failure of the ventilator was the result of: (1) the failure of veterinary staff to perform any routine maintenance of the ventilator as recommended by the manufacturer since the unit was purchased in October 2008; and (2) a 24 volt power supply cord was used with the unit during the general anesthesia of the rabbit instead of the 12 volt power supply cord supplied by the manufacturer and the subsequent overvoltage likely damaged components of the ventilator contributing to failure of the unit. Per this Section of the Regulations, the program of veterinary care at research facilities should include the availability of appropriate facilities and equipment to comply with the provision of adequate veterinary care to the animals. The availability of appropriate equipment includes ensuring that any equipment required for the care and use of the animals that are used in approved research activities is functioning properly, personnel are familiar with the proper use and maintenance of the equipment, and the equipment is maintained and serviced according to the manufacturer's recommendations to ensure that the equipment operates reliably and as expected. The IACUC acted to address this item by conducting an investigation, reporting the incident to OLAW and USDA, and implementing appropriate corrective actions to prevent any future incidents. Corrective actions included but were not limited to requiring the performance of and documentation of all routine preventative maintenance of equipment as per manufacturer'(cid:25)s recommendations as well as the review of that documentation by the IACUC during every semi-annual facility inspection, tethering the power supply cord that comes with all equipment to each piece of equipment, and providing all veterinary technical staff with additional training on the proper use and maintenance of the new ventilator unit. This item has been corrected.