Cpr Notes

CPR/Triage

Start by assessing animal – must do this within seconds (limit of around 5 seconds).

• Check for femoral pulse.

• Check to see if the animal is breathing – can you hear/feel breath? Can you see the chest moving?

• Can do the two above things at the same time to save time.

• Check reflexes – palpebral reflex, check eyes to see if they are dilated or fixed (if arresting the pupils will be dilated and centrally fixed).

Decide if the animal requires CPR based on these signs.

If there are several people around, have one person begin compressions whilst the other deals with the airway and breathing. A third person should time compressions and breaths, and begin to draw up drugs. If possible, it is a good idea to attach an ECG to the animal to assess their condition.

The airways:

• First check if there is anything physically obstructing the trachea. If there is excessive secretions or a physical blockage remove this carefully (remember overstimulation of the larynx can make the animal harder to intubate).

• Intubate the animal. Leave tying and securing the ET tube until later. The dog should be in lateral recumbancy for this.

• Set up the anaesthetic machine – select a circuit, turn on the oxygen outflow and allow the reserve bag to fill.

• Screw down the scavenger valve and give the animal a breath by squeezing the bag. Remember to unscrew the valve after each breath.

• Give one breath every ten seconds.

Heart compression:

• The dog should be in lateral recumbancy.

• Start compression right away. Compress to one third the depth of the chest and allow chest to recoil. Keep in a steady rhythm (remember the Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive).

• Continue this for two minutes then pause to re-assess animal and/or swap jobs – compression is hard!

• Compression is the most important aspect – don’t stop for any long...

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