Explaining fluid therapy Hey Emma,
I wondered if you could help me. I really want to be a vet and I am just about to start taking AS levels. This summer I have spent a couple of weeks in a veterinary practice and have taken your advice on writing a few case studies on what I have seen. I have completed one on a dog called George who had an anal adenoma which needed to be removed and a castration. I would also like to do one on a gastrotomy which I witnessed as a dog had swallowed a ball. However, I am not sure of the procedure of putting a dog on a drip. I am aware they used a catheter and attached it to a bag of fluids but I am not sure how it works. Please could you explain it to me? Thank You
Jenny You sound like you’re very diligent and I wish you all good luck for the future. Please let me know how you get on. Fluid therapy (drips); Different types of fluids are used for different conditions. You don’t need to know all the differences but for your case study it would be worth asking the vet which type of fluid was used for accuracy. For most general surgeries normal saline is used. This acts to help keep blood pressure up during surgery and ensure good blood supply to all organs and prevent shock. In some cases with gastrotomies if the dog has been vomiting the vet may have chosen a different fluid with altered levels of sodium and potassium to replace ions lost from vomiting so it would be worth checking. The rate at which the fluid is given will also vary depending on whether it is needed to simply keep everything stable or whether more is needed in cases of dehydration, blood loss and the like. The bag of fluid is chosen and connected to a giving set. This is a long piece of tubing which will take the fluid to the animal and has an adjustable part which is used to deliver exactly the right amount of fluid for the weight of the animal and the condition. This is important because if too little is given the animal may become dehydrated or go into shock and if too much is given or too quickly the animal can get fluid build-up on the lungs. The fluid is run through the giving set to get rid of all the air before it is attached to the animal. This is very important as air pushed into veins can be rapidly fatal. The animal has an intravenous catheter placed into a vein, usually on the forelimb, and the drip giving set is attached to this and then taped and bandaged in place. The animal can now be given fluids, medications and anaesthetics through the giving set as needed for as long as necessary. Intravenous fluid therapy is an incredibly important part of medicine and saves thousands of human and animal lives every day. I hope this helps and good luck!
Emma
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