Recently Colorado State University developed a new outpatient treatment protocol for Parvovirus enteritis: http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/documents/parvo-outpatient-protocol-faq-companion-animal-studies.pdf
In their studies, the survival rate was comparable to what could be achieved with aggressive in-hospital treatment. (80% survival for this protocol vs. 90% for in-hospital treatment.)
Certainly many people have attempted "at home" Parvo treatment in the past, but the success rate for this sort of limited care has been poor. This new treatment protocol takes advantage of two newer drugs (Cefovicin--AKA Convenia--as an antibiotic and Maropitant--AKA Cerenia--as an antivomiting treatment).
A couple of notes about this protocol:
1) I still strongly advocate for in-hospital treatment, owing to the amount of monitoring that can be performed. (e.g. Our in-hospital protocol calls for daily electrolytes, twice daily glucose levels, daily white blood cell counts, twice daily body weights, etc.). That sort of aggressive monitoring is difficult to achieve on an outpatient basis.
2) If you read this protocol carefully you will note that it calls for an extreme amount of owner involvement and follow-up. This is not a protocol for someone who isn't going to be returning to the hospital every day, and who isn't very tuned in to their dog.
3) I personally believe even a 90% survival rate to be low, and 80% to be unacceptably low. But, for owners who cannot afford to hospitalize their pet, this may be a good alternative.
4) I haven't priced what this protocol might cost for a client, but it still wouldn't be cheap. Both the Convenia and Cerenia are expensive medications. With recheck exams, repeated injections, the A/D diet, recheck bloodwork, and the fluids/IV lines/needles, I would guess that this would run 50% of the cost of in-hospital treatment.
5) And finally, (tongue in cheek), "don't try this at home..." This protocol is intended to be carried out with significant involvement from your veterinarian. Some non-veterinarians can doubtless purchase all of the supplies for this protocol and may attempt to perform Parvo treatment on their own. The mainstay of Parvo treatment is fluid therapy, which is a delicate art. It requires the ability to assess dehydration accurately and to take into account ongoing needs, ongoing losses, current level of dehydration, electrolyte needs, glucose needs, etc. In other words, someone with medical training needs to be running the show.
I hope that you all find this as interesting as I did!
In their studies, the survival rate was comparable to what could be achieved with aggressive in-hospital treatment. (80% survival for this protocol vs. 90% for in-hospital treatment.)
Certainly many people have attempted "at home" Parvo treatment in the past, but the success rate for this sort of limited care has been poor. This new treatment protocol takes advantage of two newer drugs (Cefovicin--AKA Convenia--as an antibiotic and Maropitant--AKA Cerenia--as an antivomiting treatment).
A couple of notes about this protocol:
1) I still strongly advocate for in-hospital treatment, owing to the amount of monitoring that can be performed. (e.g. Our in-hospital protocol calls for daily electrolytes, twice daily glucose levels, daily white blood cell counts, twice daily body weights, etc.). That sort of aggressive monitoring is difficult to achieve on an outpatient basis.
2) If you read this protocol carefully you will note that it calls for an extreme amount of owner involvement and follow-up. This is not a protocol for someone who isn't going to be returning to the hospital every day, and who isn't very tuned in to their dog.
3) I personally believe even a 90% survival rate to be low, and 80% to be unacceptably low. But, for owners who cannot afford to hospitalize their pet, this may be a good alternative.
4) I haven't priced what this protocol might cost for a client, but it still wouldn't be cheap. Both the Convenia and Cerenia are expensive medications. With recheck exams, repeated injections, the A/D diet, recheck bloodwork, and the fluids/IV lines/needles, I would guess that this would run 50% of the cost of in-hospital treatment.
5) And finally, (tongue in cheek), "don't try this at home..." This protocol is intended to be carried out with significant involvement from your veterinarian. Some non-veterinarians can doubtless purchase all of the supplies for this protocol and may attempt to perform Parvo treatment on their own. The mainstay of Parvo treatment is fluid therapy, which is a delicate art. It requires the ability to assess dehydration accurately and to take into account ongoing needs, ongoing losses, current level of dehydration, electrolyte needs, glucose needs, etc. In other words, someone with medical training needs to be running the show.
I hope that you all find this as interesting as I did!
