Learn what owners and team members can do to save dogs suffering from heatstroke. Studies show that dogs cooled by their owners before arriving at the hospital have a lower mortality rate than those whose owners do not attempt to cool them.
Source: Clinician’s Brief, June 2016.
The key take-home points:
- The mainstays of therapy for heatstroke patients include rapid cooling, volume replacement to optimize perfusion, and management of secondary complications.
- The prognosis for heatstroke in dogs is guarded; mortality rates approach 50%, with most deaths occurring within the first 24 hours.
- The risk for death increases in dogs with azotemia, hypoglycemia, coagulopathies, seizures, and obesity, and in dogs presented to the hospital more than 90 minutes after recognition of clinical signs.
INSIGHTS: The media is full of reminders about the heat and pets. In addition to the most common warnings, this article details actions owners can perform before getting the pet to the clinic.