Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the RECOVER guidelines at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University

The implementation of the RECOVER guidelines at the Small Animal Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Ghent University was assessed by performing both a cross-sectional research and a study on the impact of training. During a six-month prospective cross-sectional study, 39 patients, which underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), were recorded. This corresponds with an incidence of 1.8% of all hospitalized patients that underwent CPR during the same period. Of these cases, 32 were included in the statistics. Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was obtained in eleven patients (34.3%), but only one dog (3.1%) survived to discharge. In this study, an association between hemolymphatic disease as concomitant disease and not obtaining ROSC was shown. Subsequently, four cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training sessions were organized. The confidence of the participants was evaluated before and after these training sessions and showed a significant increase after the training session. With increased training of all personnel and students involved in CPR efforts, the aim of this study was to increase positive outcomes and to achieve a more standardized CPR protocol.