This scenario is a good example of how important it is to establish relationships up front with incoming recruits and work with our colleagues within and across institutions to establish best practices to support research and optimize animal welfare.

A top priority in this case is ensuring that the veterinarians and staff at Dr. Patel's new university have appropriate training to support the use of desflurane in Patel's cardiac research program. The first thing that the Great Eastern veterinarian should do, as requested by the principal investigator (PI), is to contact the veterinarian at the previous institution to find out what their experience has been with desflurane. The Great Eastern veterinarian should get information regarding how the previous institution managed the desflurane anesthetic support—the PI is bringing all of the equipment, so it is really a matter of training the staff at Great Eastern on how to monitor the anesthesia and be prepared for the different techniques for maintaining appropriate anesthetic depth and managing recovery. Given the unfamiliarity with desflurane the anesthetic support may take more time compared to isoflurane, so cost should be discussed to ensure that the facility recovers the expense of supporting the alternative anesthetic. This can be balanced against the efficiencies of the low-flow rate and decreased environmental pollution when using desflurane1.

In addition, Patel needs to provide a more detailed justification as to why the use of desflurane is preferable over isoflurane and how isoflurane would influence the data interpretation. The fact that all historical data are with desflurane is not adequate justification to continue the use of desflurane if in fact isoflurane is a comparable or even superior anesthetic. All PIs need to be open to considering refinements suggested by the veterinarian and the IACUC, and there should be strong scientific justification for the continued use of desflurane.

If we assume that the use of desflurane is scientifically justified to be necessary and appropriate, then the IACUC and the veterinarian should work to incorporate this new anesthetic into the local regimen. They should identify individuals on staff to be trained to support the desflurane anesthesia. A pilot study would not be necessary if there is adequate scientific justification. All relevant members of the animal care and use program should work together to get the PI's studies implemented as soon as possible. Establishing good collaborative relationships with investigators is the critical foundation for successful management of animal care at any institution.

Any costs associated with training Great Eastern staff should be paid by the department Chair who assured Patel it would be no problem to use an anesthetic that was new to the institution. At some point, there must be an in-depth conversation with the Chairperson about how this would have been handled more appropriately if the correct individuals were involved up front. Any recruitment of PIs whose research uses live animals should include a meeting and conversation with both a veterinarian and a representative of the IACUC (the IACUC Chair or Director of IACUC office, depending on the structure of the institution) during the interview process to facilitate integration into a new research community.