Dehydration In Animals

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Dehydration clinical signs

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Sunken eyes, skin remains tented, dry nose, weakness, pale, dry gums, and a capillary refill time longer than 2 seconds

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Assessing Hydration Status

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Skin tenting

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The skin above the eye and around the neck or chest should rapidly snap back and return to normal when released. If the skin remains raised or "tented," the animal is considered dehydrated

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Treatment

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Take the % dehydrated and multiply by the animal’s body weight in kg
A 20 lb. (9 kg) lamb is 9% dehydrated.
(9 kg X .09 = 0.81) liter of fluid is required to replace what has been lost.
additional fluids can be given at a rate of 5 mLs for every 2.2 lbs, every hour
Hints: 1 gallon = 3.7 liters and 1 kg = 2.2 lbs.

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Oral Fluid Administration

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no more than 250 mLs at one time to small newborns or 3-5 liters to adults.

milk replacers in addition to electrolytes to newborns is necessary - should be fed at least 30 minutes apart and never mix the two fluids

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oral tube

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requires gas to be released from the rumen.

Oral fluid administration - only if 1-5% dehydrated

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Subcutaneous (SQ) Fluid Administration

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Animals that are 6-8% dehydrated, More than 8% IV fluids should be given.

Warm the fluids to body temperature.
Use sterile isotonic fluids (0.9% saline solution).
Loose skin of the neck, shoulder, and behind the elbow are good areas to administer.
Do not give over 60 mLs in one location and over 300 mLs total to newborn at one time.
It usually takes about 4-6 hours for the fluid to completely absorb.
Oral and SQ fluids can be given at the same time and are often a great method of restoring proper hydration

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Intravenous (IV) Fluid Administration

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Only sterile fluids (0.9% saline solution)
Calculate the animal’s fluid needs by utilizing the table

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dehydration with diarrhea

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Many animals with diarrhea are acidotic (low blood pH). Because of this, bicarbonate may need to be added to the first 1-3 liters of fluid.
If 0.9% sterile saline solution or sodium chloride is used, approximately 13 grams of sodium bicarbonate or 150-175 mLs of 8.4% sodium bicarbonate solution should be added to each liter of fluid to make a 1.3% solution.

To make a 5% sodium bicarbonate solution for acidosis, 50 grams of sodium bicarbonate should be added to each liter of fluid.

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Supplemental glucose

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Supplemental glucose is often necessary. Adding 30 mLs of 50% dextrose solution to 1 liter of IV fluids makes a 1.5% dextrose solution; adding 100 mLs of 50% dextrose to 1 liter makes approximately a 5% dextrose solution.

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IV fluid amount how to administer

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In general, once the amount of fluid the animal requires is calculated, two-thirds of that amount can be given in the first hour.

For example, if the animal requires 750 mLs of fluid, 500 mLs can be given in the first hour. After the first hour, the rest of the fluids (250 mLs) can be given evenly over a 2-3 hour period.

After the initial calculated fluid dose is administered, additional fluids can be given at a rate of 5 mLs for every 2.2 lbs. of body weight, every hour.

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To calculate IV rate using hours

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If an order was written to infuse a liter of IV fluid every 8 hours, at what rate would the IV pump be set for? Answer is 125 mL/hour

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To calculate IV rate using minutes

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The loading dose is to be administered over 3 minutes. Pharmacy has brought the loading dose as a 50 mL

Answer is 1000 mL/hour

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How to Calculate Drip Rate

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1 Multiply the calibration of the IV tubing by the volume of the medication. For example, if an IV medication was stated as being 50cc and the IV tubing had a calibration of 10, you would multiply 50 by 10.

2 Divide the resulting number by the amount of minutes the medication is supposed to be administered over. If the medicine was supposed to be dripped over a 30-minute period, you would divide 500 (50 x 10) by 30.

3 Round the resulting number to the nearest tenth. Set the IV machine to the resulting number, which is measured according to gtt/minute. In the above example, you would set the IV machine to a drip rate of 16.7 or 17 gtt/min