Journal of veterinary internal medicine
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J. Vet. Intern. Med. · Nov 2011
Incidence of postoperative seizures with and without levetiracetam pretreatment in dogs undergoing portosystemic shunt attenuation.
In dogs with congenital portosystemic shunts (CPS), postligation seizures can be challenging to treat and often result in mortality. Levetiracetam (LEV) is a novel anticonvulsive drug that is commonly used in humans with seizure disorders who have hepatic comorbidity. ⋯ Levetiracetam administered at 20 mg/kg p.o. q8h for a minimum of 24 hours before surgery significantly decreased the risk of postoperative seizures and death in dogs undergoing surgical attenuation of extrahepatic CPS with ameroid ring constrictors.
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J. Vet. Intern. Med. · Nov 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialRandomized, blinded comparison of epinephrine and vasopressin for treatment of naturally occurring cardiopulmonary arrest in dogs.
Administration of epinephrine during CPR is recommended for treatment of cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) in dogs. Administration of epinephrine during CPR might be associated with deleterious adverse effects. Vasopressin has been studied for use in CPR as an alternative. ⋯ ROSC was similar in dogs receiving epinephrine or vasopressin. In this study, a survival advantage at 1 hour was seen in those animals receiving epinephrine. No advantage of routine use of vasopressin over epinephrine was detected. Further studies are required to examine subgroups of dogs that might benefit from specific interventions.