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What To Do:
- Inspect and prepare the equipment for an IV infusion.
- Select the IV site. Sites differ according to species: Equine: jugular vein. Avoid the upper 1/3 of the
vein to minimize the risk of perforating the carotid artery. Bovine, caprine or ovine: jugular vein. Alternate
sites: tail vein or the milk vein in females. Canine or feline: jugular vein. Alternate site: the cephalic vein. - Prep the IV site. Shave the IV site if possible and wipe with Betadine or alcohol swabs.
- Administer the IV. Follow the same procedure steps as with humans.
- Secure the IV. Ensure that the animal cannot pull out the IV and injure itself.
- Record the procedure.
What Not To Do: Do not allow air to enter the blood stream. Do not allow blood to infiltrate the IV. Do
not allow the animal to pull out the IV.
Vet Medicine: Animal Disease: Bloat in Bovine
MAJ Joseph Williamson, VC, USAIntroduction: Bloat is an over-distention of the rumen and reticulum in cattle. Frothy bloat is cause by
switching rapidly from poor to rich diets or by diets high in grain or legumes. Free gas bloat is generally due
to failure to eructate (belch) free gas because of a physical obstruction. Swollen, gas-filled distention of the
abdominal organs may prevent normal respiration.
Subjective: Symptoms
Owner complaints about animals: difficulty breathing and frothing about the mouth, standing with legs splayed,
refusing to eat or drink.
Objective: Signs
Distention of the left flank, tympanic gas-filled or froth-filled abdominal cavity, dyspnea, tachycardia. Collapse
and death may result if problem persists.
Assessment:
Differential Diagnosis: Peritonitis, ascites, pregnancy.
Plan:
Treatment: Primary
Insert oral stomach tube only with appropriate veterinary supervision and gastric lavage with anti-frothing
agents such as vegetable oil.
Treatment: Alternative
Trocarization: Insert a 14GA needle or trocar into gas-filled rumen (rumenotomy), expose the stomach and
suture it to body wall if animal is down or condition life threatening. These procedures should be done by
trained veterinary personnel.
Vet Medicine: Animal Disease: Colic in Equine
MAJ Joseph Williamson, VC, USAIntroduction: Colic is a nonspecific term describing sporadic abdominal pain and discomfort in the equine.
Horses may suffer from a myriad of gastrointestinal problems, including intestinal impaction or strangulation,
which fall under the general term of colic. Signs can vary from mild discomfort to shock and death. The
severity of clinical signs is not necessarily associated with the seriousness of the disease.
Subjective: Symptoms