Risk Factors Associated with Crystalloid Fluid Therapy in Dogs and Cats

Abstract

Background and aim: There is a continuous exchange of fluids and electrolytes between the body compartments and disturbances in the fluid balance can be fatal. Crystalloids are fluids that easily cross the intravascular barrier and are most often used for intravenous fluid therapy in veterinary medicine. Fluid therapy stabilises and corrects fluid, electrolyte and acid-base balance, but can also be associated with negative side effects and there are various risk factors that can affect the results of fluid therapy. In this systematic literature study, we aimed to obtain more knowledge about these risk factors of crystalloid fluid therapy in cats and dogs.

Materials and methods: We searched three different databases for peer-reviewed articles written in English from the years 2000-2020. The keywords used were dogs, cats, fluid therapy, iv fluids, intravenous, risks and risk factors. The search resulted in three articles to analyse.

Results: From the articles analysed we found that being critically ill, getting high doses of fluids and undergoing surgery were identified as risk factors for developing side effects of fluid therapy in both dogs and cats. Meanwhile, the development of a heart murmur or gallop heart sounds and being hyponatremic were risk factors only identified in cats.

Conclusion: There are few articles that have studied the risk factors of fluid therapy in dogs and cats and most of the current fluid therapy recommendations in veterinary medicine are based on human medicine research. We believe that more research on dogs and cats would be beneficial to improve fluid therapy in the veterinary field.