Pet owners provide a more reliable weight estimate for dogs compared to veterinary professionals in an emergency setting

OBJECTIVE

To determine the accuracy of pet owners, veterinary technicians, house officers (interns and residents), and attending clinicians at estimating dog weights in a veterinary emergency room.

ANIMALS

272 dogs weighing over 2 kg presenting to the emergency room between June 1 and July 29, 2022.

METHODS

Pet owners, veterinary technicians, house officers, and attending clinicians recorded the dogs' weight estimations on individual data collection cards. Pet owners were also asked to estimate their dogs' weight during the triage period. The dogs' actual weights were then obtained and recorded.

RESULTS

Pet owners were more accurate than veterinary professionals at providing weight estimates for dogs. Weight estimates were accurate to within 10% of the dogs' actual weights for 67.9% (181/267) of pet owners. Forty-one percent (112/270) of attending clinicians, 35.3% (95/269) of house officers, and 35.4% (96/271) of veterinary technicians' weight estimates were within 10% of the dog's actual weight. There was no difference noted in the length of veterinary experience and ability to closely estimate the patient's weight. Overall, veterinary professionals were more likely to closely estimate the weight of large dogs compared to small dogs.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The pet owner is most likely to provide an accurate weight for dogs and questions about the dog's weight should be directed to the client for situations in which a weight cannot be rapidly obtained.

Treatment of a massive naproxen overdose with therapeutic plasma exchange in a dog

In comparison with other over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, naproxen has a longer half-life in dogs and can lead to severe morbidity and mortality. This report describes the successful use of membrane-based therapeutic plasma exchange after a massive ingestion of naproxen by a dog resulting in 86% reduction in plasma concentration.

Comparison of pentobarbital-phenytoin alone vs propofol prior to pentobarbital-phenytoin for euthanasia in 436 client-owned dogs

OBJECTIVE

To report the incidence of adverse events during euthanasia of client-owned dogs administered either intravenous pentobarbital/phenytoin (PP) or PP after propofol delivery.

DESIGN/SETTING

Prospective, observational, multi-site study.

ANIMALS

Four hundred thirty-six dogs undergoing client-elected euthanasia over a 1-year period.

INTERVENTIONS

Interventions included placement of an IV catheter and delivery of euthanasia agents (PP for the PP group, propofol followed by PP for the propofol group). Seven pre-determined adverse events were recorded: agonal breaths, urination, defecation, vocalization, muscle activity, dysphoria, and catheter complications. Euthanasia scores for each patient were defined as the sum of all adverse events (0-7) the patient exhibited.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Two hundred thirty-six dogs were in the PP group and 200 dogs were in the propofol group. No significant differences were detected in the dose of PP administered (166.9 ± 105.6 mg/kg for PP group, 182.6 ± 109.8 mg/kg for propofol group). Propofol dogs received 4.5 ± 2.9 mg/kg propofol. The incidence of ≥ 1 adverse event was 35.2% in the PP group and 26.5% in the propofol group (P = 0.052). Mean euthanasia scores (0.47 PP group, 0.32 propofol group) were not significantly different (P = 0.08). Propofol significantly reduced the incidence of muscle activity (6% vs. 14%, odds ratio 0.39; P = 0.0079).

CONCLUSIONS

There was no difference in the likelihood of the studied adverse events during client-elected euthanasia in dogs when propofol was used prior to PP. There was a significant reduction in perimortem muscle activity if propofol was given prior to PP.