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How to set up a subcutaneous fluid set

HOME CARE

• Home food for cats and dogs

• How to apply the TTouch Body Wrap

• How to administer subcutaneous fluids

1

Home care for cats and dogs with dehydration, kidney failure, or anorexia may require the administration of sterile intravenous fluids, given as subcutaneous injections. This fact sheet describes how to prepare an IV bag and drip set. For information on how to hydrate cats and dogs see: how to administer subcutaneous fluids.

Assemble the proper sterile fluids and a “primary IV set” consisting of a piercing pin, drip chamber, 78-inch tubing, slide clamp, roller clamp, and tubing end cap. Do not touch the sterile end of the piercing pin after uncapping it. Push the slide clamp (caption 3, below) into the tubing to pinch off the flow. Carefully insert the piercing pin straight into the neck of the IV bag.

• How to set up a subcutaneous fluid set

• Intramuscular injection

2

Hang the bag about 3 feet above the cat or dog. Squeeze the tubing flat with the roller clamp to keep the flow “off” until ready to inject. Attach a sterile needle to the free end of the set. We use an 18 gauge x 1-inch needle for most dogs, a 20 gauge x 1-inch for most cats. Use a new needle each time fluids are administered- a dull needle is painful. Keep the needle capped until ready to inject the fluids.

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3

Squeeze the drip chamber to fill it 1/3 full with fluid. If the chamber fills up leaving no air space you must turn the IV bag upside down and pump the excess fluid in the drip chamber back into the IV bag. The slide clamp (pictured here) and the roller clamp in photo 4 both stop and start the flow of IV fluids. Start the flow of fluid with the free end of the tubing over a cup; let the fluid purge all air out of the tubing, then shut off the flow.

4

With an assembled IV fluid set, insert the needle at a 45° angle, piercing the skin over the shoulder blades. To start the flow, push the slide clamp to release pressure on the tubing. Next, adjust the drip rate to 1 drop per second using the roller clamp pictured here. If the cat or dog is cooperating push the roller to allow maximum flow. Double check the tubing where it was clamped and squeeze open any flattened portions.

5

If the needle is too deep, partly withdraw it to lie just under the skin. Have the assistant reassure the cat or dog while restraining the head and neck area. You can relax your grip on the skin fold, but use the other hand to keep the needle in place. Watch the fluid level in the bag to avoid over-hydrating the patient. It may take up to 24 hours for the bleb of fluid to be absorbed. Avoid injecting air under the skin. Fluids can be warmed by wrapping them in a warm towel.

William K. Kruesi, D.V.M. 11/7/04