Building a Fluid Therapy Plan

Abstract

Fluid therapy is a crucial part to any treatment plan in small animal patients. It is imperative that clinicians understand the distribution of body fluids and Starling's forces when prescribing fluids for a patient. The first step in designing a fluid therapy plan is to determine the volume status of the patient and if a bolus of fluids is needed to restore intravascular volume. Once hypovolemia has been addressed (if present), the rest of the fluid therapy plan can be designed and should include replacing dehydration, maintenance fluid requirement, and any ongoing losses.

Keywords: Bolus; Dehydration; Fluid therapy; Maintenance; Replacement; Tonicity.