Emergency patients in shock immediately receive an infusion of Ringer's lactate and vitamin B complex for volume replacement. An infusion is contraindicated in the presence of pulmonary oedema; in this case furosemide has proven to be excellently effective and well tolerated.
The injection of corticosteroids ("Solu-Decortin H10") should be weighed very carefully and has proven useful in birds brought in shortly after their accident, without delay. The severe immunosuppression caused by corticosteroids must be expressly noted; they should be given only once, and in exceptional cases for a maximum of three consecutive days.
Covering the shock patient with systemic antibiotics must be weighed critically in the Common Swift because of the risk of aspergillosis, since the already weakened organism would then additionally be burdened with an antifungal drug as well. Not every accident bird that has suffered a collision needs the full range of emergency drug treatment. Standard protocols that cover everything "just in case" and are given to every shock patient without exception can, through "over-medicating", do more harm than good.
For this reason, the most sensible combination of medications must be considered and applied individually for each case, based on careful clinical examination. In some cases, less is more. For example, lukewarm black coffee has repeatedly proven to be an excellent home remedy for severely weakened, circulatory-depressed patients, instead of the usual circulatory stimulants. However, an infusion with roborants must always be given first.
Emergency Medications
Active ingredient | Dosage | Trade name | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
Etilefrine | 1 mg/kg i.m. | Effortril | Boehringer |
Doxapram | 10 mg/kg i.m. | Dopram-V | Albrecht |
Dimethyl- | drop by drop o.o. | Respirot | Ciba |
k-Strophanthin | drop by drop p.o. | k-Strophanthin | Intervet |
Prednisolone | 5 mg/kg i.m. SID | Solu-Decortin H10 | Merck |
Furosemide | 1 mg/kg i.m. | Lasix, "Dimazon" | Hoechst |
Caffeine | drop by drop p.o. | Cronat Gold | Jacobs |