Prognostic indicators for dogs and cats with cardiopulmonary arrest treated by cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation at a university teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association among signalment, health status, other clinical variables, and treatments and events during cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation (CPCR) with the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) for animals with cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) in a veterinary teaching hospital.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.

ANIMALS: 161 dogs and 43 cats with CPA.

PROCEDURES: Data were gathered during a 60-month period on animals that had CPA and underwent CPCR. Logistic regression was used to evaluate effects of multiple predictors for ROSC.

RESULTS: 56 (35%) dogs and 19 (44%) cats had successful CPCR. Twelve (6%) animals (9 dogs and 3 cats) were discharged from the hospital. Successfully resuscitated dogs were significantly more likely to have been treated with mannitol, lidocaine, fluids, dopamine, corticosteroids, or vasopressin; had CPA while anesthetized; received chest compressions while positioned in lateral recumbency; and had a suspected cause of CPA other than hemorrhage or anemia, shock, hypoxemia, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, cerebral trauma, malignant arrhythmia, or an anaphylactoid reaction and were less likely to have been treated with multiple doses of epinephrine, had a longer duration of CPA, or had multiple disease conditions, compared with findings in dogs that were not successfully resuscitated. Successfully resuscitated cats were significantly more likely to have had more people participate in CPCR and less likely to have had shock as the suspected cause of CPA, compared with findings in cats that were not successfully resuscitated.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The prognosis was grave for animals with CPA, except for those that had CPA while anesthetized.