Guide to manual positive pressure ventilation (bagging) in companion animal practice

In Pract. Dec 2022;44(10):564-576.

Lucía Torres Cantó, Adam Auckburally, Nicolas Pernet

Author Abstract

Background: Squeezing the reservoir bag on the anaesthetic breathing system to inflate the lungs (colloquially known as bagging) is a technique commonly used during general anaesthesia in veterinary practice. Despite being straightforward to perform, the physiological implications are important to understand. Furthermore, catastrophic consequences can occur and staff must be vigilant and trained correctly when using this technique to manage ventilation during anaesthesia.

Aim of the article: This article provides an overview of the indications and contraindications of manual bagging, and reviews relevant literature from human medicine.

Article Tools:

Email to me

Archives Highlights:

Head tilt in 6 Ankole-Watusi cattle (Bos taurus ankole) with chronic exudative cornual sinusitis.
Clinically, 4 of the 6 cases had concurrent otitis at the time of initial clinical observation. Medical management was the standard across all cases with limited surgical success in 2 cases. Due to intractable and progressive clinical signs despite treatment attempts, euthanasia and postmortem examinations were performed.

Companion animal veterinary personnel have occupational risk for tularemia and One Health role for tularemia prevention in Kansas.
Forty-three percent (47 of 109) of veterinarians reported diagnosing tularemia in cats and 13% (14 of 109) in dogs. Seven percent (8 of 109) of veterinarians reported having had tularemia. When performing procedures with a high risk of exposure, such as lancing abscesses in tularemia suspects, glove use was 100% but additional personal protective equipment was inconsistent, including eye protection (70%) and surgical face mask (59%).

Association between highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks and weather conditions in Japan.
We found that higher average air temperatures two to three weeks prior, lower average wind speeds four weeks prior, and longer sunlight hours two and four weeks prior to outbreaks were significantly associated with increased risk of HPAI outbreaks in Japan. These results suggest that weather may influence environmental survival and transmission of the virus, as well as patterns of wild bird movement that could seed new outbreaks.

Recovery of ambulation in small, nonbrachycephalic dogs after conservative management of acute thoracolumbar disk extrusion.
Forty-nine of fifty-one (96%) of deep pain-positive and 10/21 (48%) of deep pain-negative dogs recovered ambulation within the 12-week period. The median time to ambulation was 11 and 25 days for deep pain-positive and -negative dogs, respectively. Reduction in spinal cord compression varied among individuals from minimal to complete and apparently was unrelated to the recovery of ambulation.

Nursing care of the small animal oncology patient. Part 2: pet carer support
This article outlines how RVNs can alleviate caregiver burden, facilitate shared decision-making, and provide practical and emotional support throughout the oncology journey.