The effect of short term peripheral parenteral nutrition on treatment outcomes and mortality in critically ill pediatric canine patients
It is known that nutritional supplementation improves the outcome of veterinary patients and that the preferred route is through the gastrointestinal tract (enteral nutrition). In cases of gastric or intestinal motility disorders the effective absorption and use of nutrients can be compromised. These disorders are common in ill canine pediatric patients who very easily become malnourished leading to increased morbidity and mortality.
Research in cats and dogs suggests that parenteral nutrition (PN) can reduce mortality in situations where enteral feeding cannot be provided. The downfall of PN is that it has been associated with complications like sepsis, metabolic abnormalities, acid-base imbalances, amongst others. Literature suggests that the main cause of these complications is over-nutrition.
The aim of this study was to determine if hypocaloric supplementation would improve morbidity and mortality rates in ill canine pediatric patients when compared to treatment without any type of PN, while trying to avoid the adverse side effects described with more caloric supplementation.
In this study 59 critically ill canine pediatric patients were included with ages ranging between 1 and 6 months. All were non-vaccinated and with the presumptive diagnosis of Parvoviral Gastroenteritis. All puppies were unable to obtain optimal enteral nutrition due to anorexia, vomiting and/or diarrhea. They were divided in 3 groups: group 1 (40% of their RER via PN); group 2 (50% of their RER via PN); and group 3 (control group only treated with conventional care). In all supplemented patients, PN was initiated 24h after hospitalization in combination with standard treatment. Patients that remained dehydrated within 24h of admission were excluded from the study.
There wasn’t a significant difference between group 1 and 2 so they were merged as one in the analysis. The PN group was associated with lower mortality, lower percentage of weight loss and fewer reports of sepsis; also, no complications were observed. This concludes that providing 40-50% of RER through PN can be a short-term therapy in dogs, particularly critically ill puppies.
Flores Dueñas, C. A., Gaxiola Camacho, S. M., Montaño Gómez, M. F., Villa Angulo, R., Enríquez Verdugo, I., Rentería Evangelista, T., Pérez Corrales, J. A., & Rodríguez Gaxiola, M. N. (2021). ‘The effect of short term peripheral parenteral nutrition on treatment outcomes and mortality in critically ill pediatric canine patients’, Irish Veterinary Journal, 74(1)
