Audit of the provision of nutritional support to mechanically ventilated dogs and cats.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of enteral and parenteral nutrition in a population of mechanically ventilated cats and dogs, identify factors associated with implementation of nutrition, and assess the frequency of nutritional support within 72 hours of absent caloric intake. DESIGN: Retrospective, single-center audit from June 2013 to June 2016. SETTING: ICU of a veterinary university teaching hospital. ANIMALS: Fifty-eight animals (50 dogs, 8 cats) that underwent mechanical ventilation for ≥6 hours with complete medical records. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data collected included nutritional provision, time to initiation of nutrition, period of absent caloric intake, percentage of caloric intake obtained, and possible factors contributing to the delay or failure to implement nutrition. Thirty-one percent of patients (dogs 16/50, 32%; cats 2/8, 25%) received nutritional support during mechanical ventilation with all but 2 dogs receiving parenteral nutrition. Of those patients that did not receive nutrition (dogs 34/50, 68%; cats 6/8, 75%), documented contraindications or notations within the medical record for its omission were present in 16 of 34 dogs (47%) and 4 of 6 cats (66.7%). Thirteen animals (11 dogs, 2 cats) had >72 hours of absent caloric intake with only a small number of these receiving nutrition (dogs 4/11, 36.4%; cats 0/2, 0%). CONCLUSIONS: Only 18 of 58 (31%) mechanically ventilated dogs and cats at our institution received nutritional support, and the majority of these were fed parenterally (16/18, 88.9%). For animals that did not receive nutrition, there was no clear reason for its absence in many cases. Animals with absent caloric intake >72 hours had poor implementation of nutritional support in contrast to current guidelines. A repeat audit after implementing changes to institutional protocols for nutritional provision is warranted to assess the impact on morbidity and mortality.

Successful treatment of canine acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to inhalant toxin exposure.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the successful management of a dog with acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to inhalant toxin exposure. CASE SUMMARY: An 8-year-old male neutered Greyhound was referred with severe respiratory distress 56 hours after exposure to an aerosol toxicant. The patient developed respiratory difficulties requiring veterinary attention within 12 hours of initial exposure. Treatment at the referral hospital included mechanical ventilation and supportive care. The patient was discharged 5 days after admission to the referral hospital. NEW OR UNIQUE INFORMATION: This is the first report, to the authors' knowledge, of canine acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to inhalant toxin exposure not associated with smoke inhalation. The report summarizes the provided care and subsequent successful outcome.