Continuous versus intermittent enteral nutrition in hospitalised dogs and cats using a new scoring system: A prospective clinical study.

Nutrition is an important part of the critical care. The goals of this prospective clinical study were to create a scoring system for the assessment of patient nutritional status and to compare continuous and intermittent bolus feeding of enteral nutrition (EN). A total of 38 patients (21 dogs and 17 cats) were divided into Group C (continuous feeding; 23 patients) and Group I (intermittent feeding; 15 patients). The following variables were recorded for each patient in both groups: gastrointestinal (GI) complications, changes in body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), muscle condition score (MCS), veterinary nutritional status score (VetNSS), length of hospitalisation and outcome. The normality of the data was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and the t-test were used in statistical analyses. Significant changes were found in VetNSS and BW between the 1st and 5th day in Group C. The VetNSS seems to be useful for monitoring the nutritional status of hospitalised patients. Anorectic dogs and cats can be successfully supported with either continuous or intermittent feeding methods with a similar risk of GI complications and outcomes.

Effects of the Administration of Different Buffered Balanced Crystalloid Solutions on Acid-Base and Electrolyte Status in Dogs with Gastric Dilation-Volvulus Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of three different buffered balanced crystalloid solutions on acid-base status and electrolyte concentrations in dogs with gastric dilation-volvulus (GDV) syndrome. METHODS: The study design was a prospective, randomized clinical trial of 40 dogs. The dogs were randomly assigned to one of three groups according to the fluid used: Hartmann's solution (H), Plasmalyte (PL), and Ringerfundin (RF). Hemoglobin, albumin, lactate, electrolyte, and acid-base parameters were determined before fluid administration (T0) and at the end of surgery (T1). Results were assessed by one-way ANOVA, Fisher's exact test, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and a linear mixed-effect regression model. A significance level of 0.05 was used in all analyses. RESULTS: Bicarbonate and base excess (BE) levels increased and chloride concentration decreased in the PL group; in contrast, strong ion difference apparent (SIDapp) decreased and chloride concentration increased in the RF group. The mixed-effect model confirmed a significant interaction between the type of solution and time on the changes in bicarbonate, BE, anion gap (AG), SIDapp, and chloride levels. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Significantly different effects in acid-base parameters were observed in dogs after intravenous administration of H, PL, and RF. However, clinical significance of these changes is lacking, requiring further investigation in a larger randomized controlled clinical trial.