AAHA, AAFP release guidelines on fluid therapy

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The American Animal Hospital Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners on May 1 released the new AAHA/AAFP Fluid Therapy Guidelines for Dogs and Cats.

“Our hope is that we have removed the barriers for veterinarians who currently are not embracing fluid therapy to do so now,” said Dr. Tracey Jensen, contributing author. “There are many conditions and situations where the patient can benefit from fluid support. We see this as a win-win-win: a win for the patient by receiving better medical care; a win for the client with quicker resolution of illness, decreased anesthesia risk, and overall decreased veterinary expense; and a win for the practitioner with increased positive case outcome.”

Dr. Kate Knutson, AAHA president, said, “The fluids committee did a great job of distilling medical information into a concise and easy-to-understand document.”

The document covers general principles and patient assessment, maintenance and replacement fluid therapy, fluid administration during anesthesia, fluid therapy in the sick patient, changes in fluid volume, changes in fluid content, changes in fluid distribution, and equipment and staffing.

AAHA is offering a free Web conference on the new guidelines from July 1-14. Details are available at aahanet.org/webconf.

The guidelines are available at aahanet.org/Library/Guidelines.aspx.