We place them on fluids, Hetastarch, Plasma, give Metronidazole, give antiemetics, countless antibiotics, gastroprotectants, and nothing. We feel awful for these patients as we know 50% are fighting a losing battle. We pray for them to pull through, “Rally, stop vomiting, don’t have anymore bloody diarrhea, PLEASE fight this, please feel better, we love you, don’t die, and then finally PLEASE don’t suffer any longer…it’s ok to go..go play with your litter mates who had passed yesterday evening, or even this morning.” Not a good week at the animal hospital for certain.&nb
We place them on fluids, Hetastarch, Plasma, give Metronidazole, give antiemetics, countless antibiotics, gastroprotectants, and nothing. We feel awful for these patients as we know 50% are fighting a losing battle. We pray for them to pull through, “Rally, stop vomiting, don’t have anymore bloody diarrhea, PLEASE fight this, please feel better, we love you, don’t die, and then finally PLEASE don’t suffer any longer…it’s ok to go..go play with your litter mates who had passed yesterday evening, or even this morning.” Not a good week at the animal hospital for certain. I am so done watching these guys drop one by one. Last year we had a litter of 8 Pit bull terrier puppies, 4 died and 4 survived. Talk about spot on odds! As technicians watching these sometimes agonizing cases is almost too much to bear.
- How many times have you turned off the lights, closed and locked the clinic doors and gone home hoping to find your patient alive in the morning..or sometimes wishing they would pass overnight as they slept just to ease their suffering? I think we have all done it.
- Does anyone have any tips for treating these guys better?
- Maybe controlling the pain from the vomiting and especially for the diarrhea?
- Magical meds? Anything used off label?
- Something that can stop diarrhea in it’s tracks?
- What out there can better support these guys?
- What does Parvovirus look like on ultrasound? Has anyone in the SonoPath community scanned one of these patients?
Thanks in advance for any comments and suggestions.
Comments
Hi Sonogirl,
I symphathize
Hi Sonogirl,
I symphathize with your feelings, particularly all those cute puppies is so sad to see them fading away with this awful virus.
I had scanned a few patients with parvo and I’ve noted a pronounced ileum with a fluid intestinal pattern, assumed pain mediated, and they showed a positive response to pain relief, with buprenorphine.
Cheers,
Silvana
Hi Sonogirl,
I symphathize
Hi Sonogirl,
I symphathize with your feelings, particularly all those cute puppies is so sad to see them fading away with this awful virus.
I had scanned a few patients with parvo and I’ve noted a pronounced ileum with a fluid intestinal pattern, assumed pain mediated, and they showed a positive response to pain relief, with buprenorphine.
Cheers,
Silvana
Thank you Silvana, anything
Thank you Silvana, anything to help these guys is appreciated. ๐
Thank you Silvana, anything
Thank you Silvana, anything to help these guys is appreciated. ๐
Agree with the buprenorphine.
Agree with the buprenorphine. Would also recommend placing a naso-esophgeal tube and fed as soon as possible, even if there is vomiting; as early enteral nutrition has been shown to improve survival and decrease hospital stay.
Agree with the buprenorphine.
Agree with the buprenorphine. Would also recommend placing a naso-esophgeal tube and fed as soon as possible, even if there is vomiting; as early enteral nutrition has been shown to improve survival and decrease hospital stay.
Great thank you Dr. Lobetti,
Great thank you Dr. Lobetti, we have not tried a naso-esophogeal tube approach in these patients. I will pass the advice along to my doctors. ๐
Great thank you Dr. Lobetti,
Great thank you Dr. Lobetti, we have not tried a naso-esophogeal tube approach in these patients. I will pass the advice along to my doctors. ๐
I’m from a very rural area
I’m from a very rural area and see more Parvo this past year then I have in the past 20 years of practice. I do agree with the Buprenorphine for all parvo patients. There is one thing that one practice I know of does and that is along with the Metronidazole they treat with strongid. When I asked about this their response was that most of the puppies they see with parvo also have parasites and the strongid often gives them a little relief very quickly. Wish I had more for you.
I’m from a very rural area
I’m from a very rural area and see more Parvo this past year then I have in the past 20 years of practice. I do agree with the Buprenorphine for all parvo patients. There is one thing that one practice I know of does and that is along with the Metronidazole they treat with strongid. When I asked about this their response was that most of the puppies they see with parvo also have parasites and the strongid often gives them a little relief very quickly. Wish I had more for you.
Thank you Dogmom. ๐
Thank you Dogmom. ๐
Thank you Dogmom. ๐
Thank you Dogmom. ๐
Wow, I have seen so little
Wow, I have seen so little parvo since I moved back up to NJ. When I lived in NC it was a frequent visitor to our clinic. As Dogmom indicated, parvo is a product of poor husbandry and just simply not vaccinating, and therefore more likely seen in poorer rural areas. There was a study done a long time ago, which I can no longer reference nor give details on, that did show that puppies that were well dewormed did not contract the parvo virus when presented on direct challenge, while pups with worm burdens did get clinical parvo. I know there was also talk of using immune stimulants to treat these pups, but nothing seemed to really come of that, that I was aware of; and we tried it in our hospital with no positive effect. Isn’t there also a thought that you really don’t want to stop the diarrhea, but rather allow the body to expel the virus? as for the rest sonogirl, everything you do is what we always did – support the body and hope it has a good enough immune system to outlast the virus.
Wow, I have seen so little
Wow, I have seen so little parvo since I moved back up to NJ. When I lived in NC it was a frequent visitor to our clinic. As Dogmom indicated, parvo is a product of poor husbandry and just simply not vaccinating, and therefore more likely seen in poorer rural areas. There was a study done a long time ago, which I can no longer reference nor give details on, that did show that puppies that were well dewormed did not contract the parvo virus when presented on direct challenge, while pups with worm burdens did get clinical parvo. I know there was also talk of using immune stimulants to treat these pups, but nothing seemed to really come of that, that I was aware of; and we tried it in our hospital with no positive effect. Isn’t there also a thought that you really don’t want to stop the diarrhea, but rather allow the body to expel the virus? as for the rest sonogirl, everything you do is what we always did – support the body and hope it has a good enough immune system to outlast the virus.
I don’t see a lot of
I don’t see a lot of parvovirus in my veterinary hospital but do see it in Turk and Caicos at a practice that I work at and our main line go treatment is Tamiflu, a anti-viral medication used off- label along with supportive care.
I don’t see a lot of
I don’t see a lot of parvovirus in my veterinary hospital but do see it in Turk and Caicos at a practice that I work at and our main line go treatment is Tamiflu, a anti-viral medication used off- label along with supportive care.
Not sure how really effective
Not sure how really effective Tamiflu is as it works against neuraminidase, which is needed for replication of the influenza virus, however, it is not found in the parvo virus.
Not sure how really effective
Not sure how really effective Tamiflu is as it works against neuraminidase, which is needed for replication of the influenza virus, however, it is not found in the parvo virus.
Admittedly, Tamiflu is a
Admittedly, Tamiflu is a controversial off-label usage and I think it is not the anti-viral properties but how it helps with the other secondary infections that can affect the patient but there is no studies out there that I am aware of. There is also the whole issue around saving the anti- virals for human use only. There are some good threads on VIN about this.
Where I have used it (almost like third world country conditions) other resources have been limited – some make it and some don’t but many do seem to get better with the med but I can not say for sure if it is a coincidence or not?
Admittedly, Tamiflu is a
Admittedly, Tamiflu is a controversial off-label usage and I think it is not the anti-viral properties but how it helps with the other secondary infections that can affect the patient but there is no studies out there that I am aware of. There is also the whole issue around saving the anti- virals for human use only. There are some good threads on VIN about this.
Where I have used it (almost like third world country conditions) other resources have been limited – some make it and some don’t but many do seem to get better with the med but I can not say for sure if it is a coincidence or not?