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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1539138
The association between nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockade agents and survival to discharge in dogs undergoing mechanical ventilation: a multi-center retrospective study of 227 dogs (2010-2020)
Provisionally accepted
Lena Ngo 1
Rebecca Walton 1,2*
Jacob Wolf 3
Nyssa Levy 4 Tasia Ludwik 5 Britt Thevelein 6
April Blong 2 Jiazhang Cai 6 Jonathan Mochel 6- 1 VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital, Los Angeles, California, United States
- 2 Iowa State University, Ames, United States
- 3 University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States
- 4 Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States
- 5 University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
- 6 University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States
Objective: To evaluate the association between neuromuscular blockade agent (NMBA) use and outcome in dogs undergoing mechanical ventilation (MV), including survival to discharge, and complications.Methods: The medical records for 227 mechanically ventilated dogs were reviewed for NMBA use, parameters of respiratory status (PaO2, PCO2, PF ratio, SpO2), MV settings, MV complications, and survival outcome.Results: The NMBA and non-NMBA groups included 28 and 199 dogs, respectively. The median partial pressures of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2) in the NMBA and non-NMBA groups were 63 and 57 mmHg, respectively (P = 0.24). The median partial pressures of blood carbon dioxide levels were 58 and 51 mmHg, respectively (P = 0.07). The pulse oximetry percentage (SpO2) prior to initiation of MV were 88% and 94%, respectively (P = 0.02). The median PF ratios prior to MV were 90 and 215, respectively (P = 0.02). The median durations of MV were 18 and 24 hours, respectively (P = 0.32). Eight (28.6%) dogs that received NMBAs survived to discharge, while 51 dogs (32.3%) that did not receive NMBAs survived to discharge (P = 0.87). Both PF ratio and SpO2 values were significantly lower in dogs that received NMBAs compared to dogs that did not. (P = 0.02 and P = 0.02, respectively). There was no significant difference in tidal volume or peak inspiratory pressure at the time of MV initiation (P Deleted: canine patients
Keywords: acute respiratory distress, hypoxemia, Hypoventilation, Neuromuscular Blockade, ventilator complications MV discontinuation
Received: 03 Dec 2024; Accepted: 18 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ngo, Walton, Wolf, Levy, Ludwik, Thevelein, Blong, Cai and Mochel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Rebecca Walton, Iowa State University, Ames, United States
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