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An Introduction to Rescue Oxygen for Pets

by | Sep 14, 2020 | For Vets

Rescue Oxygen for Pets I Pawprint Oxygen

Pawprint Oxygen has introduced Rescue Oxygen for pets consisting of portable and safe Pawprint Oxygen Canisters, a fixed-flow Regulator, and a Pet Oxygen Mask. This system is affordable and convenient, enabling pet parents to administer oxygen in a variety of situations to support their respiratory distressed pet.

Oxygen as an Essential Emergency Drug

Rescue oxygen is standard of care in human medicine. It is used by first responders for pre-hospital care, in ambulances, and in the hospital. However, its availability for pets has been limited. Until recently, the reluctance to prescribe high pressure oxygen tanks, especially for transport, was understandable due to safety and liability concerns. Other oxygen sources such as oxygen concentrators lack the portability and flow rate requirements for episodic or transport use.

A New Rescue Oxygen System for Pets

There is now a veterinary rescue oxygen system available for emergency home use, transport, and supplementation of other systems. Pawprint Oxygen presents a Rescue Oxygen System for pets consisting of portable and safe Pawprint Oxygen Canisters, a fixed-flow Regulator, and a Pet Oxygen Mask. This system is affordable and convenient, enabling veterinarians and pet parents to administer oxygen in a variety of situations. 

Rescue oxygen is designed to support patients experiencing respiratory distress  at home, during transport, and as a supplement to other oxygen sources in the hospital. Understanding the limitations of rescue oxygen is important for it to be effective.

Rescue oxygen requires someone to administer it to the patient. This includes keeping the mask in place (although a nylon oversized muzzle can accomplish this), monitoring the oxygen left in the canister, and changing canisters when the gauge reads empty. The system is designed to be user friendly for both pet parents and veterinarians.

While the rescue oxygen system can be used in the initial emergent treatment of a patient suffering from respiratory distress, there are situations in which longer term oxygen is more suitable. Home oxygen cages coupled with an oxygen source such as a home oxygen concentrator may be a better fit for pets that require long-term oxygen therapy or higher flow rates than that which can be sustained by the Rescue Oxygen System.

Oxygen administration is already a standard of care in human pre-hospital medicine and other medications for pets, which were previously reserved for hospital use, are now commonly administered at home. The advent of a cost effective and safe Rescue Oxygen System for pets equips pet parents and veterinarians with the ability to provide life saving and comforting oxygen at home, during transport, and where not previously available. This will be the new standard of care for pets.

About Sean Smarick, VMD, DACVECC 

Veterinary Advisor

Dr. Sean Smarick received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991. He then completed a residency in Veterinary Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at the University of California, Davis in 2003 and, in the same year, became a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. In his 30 years of practice, Dr Smarick has enjoyed being in the ICU and emergency rooms of private and university practices, participating in CPR and clinical research, contributing to journals and textbooks, training residents and interns, and serving on the board of several veterinary businesses and organizations. Dr. Smarick currently serves as the Post-Cardiac Arrest Care Domian Chair of RECOVER, as a Trustee on the Board of the PVMA, and as a commissioned Veterinary Corps Officer in the US Army Reserves.  In addition to providing local and national instruction to handlers, paramedics and veterinarians, he is involved in pre-hospital veterinary care as a member of the VetCOT ATLS and education committees, the K9 TECC working group, and on the board of NAVEMS. 

 

Pawprint Oxygen does not provide veterinary advice. The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a veterinarian with questions regarding your pet’s health.