Page 2763 - Cote clinical veterinary advisor dogs and cats 4th

1437.e4 Nutritional Support, Decision-Making

Nutritional Support, Decision-Making
VetBooks.ir Yes Adequate voluntary food intake? No

Continue voluntary intake Institute nutritional support

Yes No
Functional intestinal tract?

Appetite stimulants, Parenteral feeding
enteral feeding,
and/or tube feeding

Yes Persistent vomiting or No Yes Long-term No
gastric disease? support

Antiemetics; if intractable No Normal esophagus? Total/central Peripheral/
vomiting, diagnostic feeding partial feeding
studies ± enterostomy* tube
Yes

No Normal pharynx Yes
Gastostomy or and gag reflex?
enterostomy* tube

Duration of feeding <1 week,
Gastrostomy, No high anesthetic risk, Yes
enterostomy*
and/or bleeding disorder?

Esophagostomy, Nasoesophageal*
gastrostomy, or nasogastric*
pharyngostomy, tube
or enterostomy* tube

Yes No
Enteral feedings tolerated?

*Enterostomy, nasogastric, or nasoeophageal Continue feeding Consider ration change,
tube use typically requires hospitalization.
different tube,
or parenteral feeding
(Modified from Slatter DH: Textbook of small animal surgery, ed 3, St. Louis, 2003, Saunders.)

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