[Recent insights into the possibilities of resuscitation of dogs and cats]. / Huidige inzichten in de mogelijkheden van reanimatie bij de hond en de kat.

This article reviews the present state of the art of resuscitation of dogs and cats. The purpose of resuscitation is to revive animals so that the vital functions resume together with a normal brain function. Resuscitation must be started as soon as the cardiopulmonary arrest has been confirmed. Adequate ventilation and effective circulation to the most vital body organs, the heart and the brain, have the highest priority. They can be achieved by endotracheal intubation, artificial ventilation with 100% oxygen and rhythmic compression of the closed chest or direct cardiac massage following thoracotomy. Medical therapy is an important part of resuscitation. In the absence of a central venous route, deep endotracheal administration is the preferred method of administration. Most medications can be administered through the endotracheal tube in this fashion.

Dietary vitamin D dependence of cat and dog due to inadequate cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D.

As in herbivores and omnivores, the biosynthesis of vitamin D3 in the skin exposed to ultraviolet (uv) light is generally expected to also occur in the dog and the cat. The purpose of this in vitro study was to measure the concentrations of vitamin D3 and its precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol (7DHC) in dog and cat skin before and after a quantitatively and qualitatively standardized exposure to uv light. The results are compared to those obtained by the same method in the skin of the rat. The efficiency of extracting 7DHC and vitamin D3 from skin was 72 +/- 8% and 67 +/- 3%, respectively. In dog and cat skin the concentrations of nonesterified 7DHC were below the detection limit of the HPLC system. Therefore, skin extracts were saponified and total 7DHC and vitamin D3 concentrations were measured by normal-phase HPLC. Before irradiation with uv-B light the total concentrations of 7DHC were 1858 +/- 183, 1958 +/- 204, and 17,620 +/- 2345 ng/cm2 skin (mean +/- SEM; n = 5) for the dog, the cat, and the rat, respectively. The corresponding concentrations of vitamin D3 were 211 +/- 44, 193 +/- 18, and 161 +/- 32 ng/cm2 skin for the dog, the cat, and the rat, respectively. Irradiation of standard solutions of 7DHC with 0.15 J uv-B light/min resulted in a time-dependent decrease in 7DHC and a concomitant increase in previtamin D3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Quantitation of portosystemic shunting in dogs by ultrasound-guided injection of 99MTc-macroaggregates into a splenic vein.

A technique is described for the ultrasound-guided injection of 99mTc-macroaggregates into a splenic vein in order to quantitate portosystemic collateral circulation. The fraction of portal blood by-passing the liver was derived from the radioactivity trapped in the liver and lungs and was expressed as the shunt index (SI). The method was tested in healthy dogs without shunting, and in dogs with single hereditary portosystemic shunts before and one month after surgical closure of the shunt. The mean SI was 0.01 (range 0.01 to 0.05) in healthy dogs and 0.94 (0.69 to 1.00) in dogs with hereditary shunts. After partial closure of the shunts the SI decreased to 0.25 (0.03 to 0.70). There was a significant positive correlation between the logarithms of the concentration of ammonia in plasma and the SI (r = 0.87, P < 0.001).