Emergency vet

Method of fluid therapy

If we want to perform fluid therapy in an animal, it is necessary to set up a venous route, and we usually do that with the help of intravenous cannulas. Sometimes, if this approach is difficult or impossible, especially in newborns, the fluid is given intraosseously.

For each patient, depending on the clinical picture and the disease, the type of fluid that is given is chosen, but the amount and speed of fluid delivery are also calculated. The first step in assessing which fluid is given is actually assessing the hydrated status of the organism, ie. determining the degree of dehydration.

In order to determine the hydration of the organism, it is necessary to perform a clinical examination of the patient and on the basis of certain parameters (appearance of mucous membranes, capillary filling time, the elasticity of skinfold, position of eyes in eye sockets,…) assess whether it is a mild degree of 5%, significant 8-10% or expressed over 12%. Of course, the given values are approximate and it is a subjective assessment (there are different assessment scales).

The goal of fluid therapy

The goal of each fluid therapy is one of the following three items:

• fluid replacement in the intravascular compartment (to improve tissue perfusion),
• fluid replacement in the interstitial compartment (rehydration of the patient) and
• maintenance (aims to compensate for normal daily losses).

The types of liquids that are given are:

• crystalloids (isotonic, hypertonic and hypotonic solutions) and
• colloids (natural and synthetic).

Fluid therapy is performed until the patient’s condition stabilizes and the parameters we monitor return to reference (normal) values.

Our hospital is equipped with the most modern devices that help us to apply the fluid that we give to patients as a rule and to monitor it constantly.