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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1579758
This article is part of the Research Topic Recent developments in Animal Reproduction: combining research with practice View all 8 articles
Efficacy of VG26 and K1 acupuncture points in cardiopulmonary resuscitation of neonatal puppies born by cesarean section
Provisionally accepted
Maria Lucia Gomes Lourenço 1*
Keylla Helena Nobre Pacífico Pereira 1,2
Fabíola Cardoso Knupp 1
Kárita Fuchs 1
Gleice Mendes Xavier 1
Júlia Cosenza Mendonça 1
Miriam Harumi Tsunemi 3
Fabiana Souza 4
Jean Guilherme Fernandes Joaquim 4- 1 Department of Veterinary Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University, Botucatu, Brazil
- 2 Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), Viçosa, Brazil
- 3 Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University, Botucatu, Brazil
- 4 Department of Veterinary Surgery and Animal Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Botucatu, Brazil
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of acupuncture points VG26 and K1 on the reversal of apnea and the elevation of heart and respiratory rates in neonatal dogs after birth. Sixty neonates who were apneic, bradycardic, bradypneic or dyspneic were divided into three groups: VG26 acupuncture point (GVG26), K1 acupuncture point (GK1) and control (CG). Data on heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and Apgar score were collected. The moments of analysis were after 1 minute of tactile respiratory stimulus (M1); after stimulation with the acupuncture points (M2); and 10 minutes after the last assessment (M3). After the VG26 and K1 were used, a significant increase in HR was observed between M1 and M2, medians (25% quartile -75% quartile), respectively: GVG26 136 and 202 bpm; GK1 147 and 195 bpm; GC 168 and 187 bpm. Significant clinical improvement was also observed in RR, with a median at M1 and M2, respectively: GVG26 16 and 28 mpm; GK1 18 and 32 mpm; GC 32 and 40 mpm. For the Apgar score, significant differences were observed in the mean scores between M1 and M3 in the GVG26, GK1 and CG groups.The VG26 and K1 acupuncture points are effective in neonatal puppies, leading to improvements in the respiratory pattern and increases in the HR, RR and Apgar score, can be used in neonatal resuscitation at birth.
Keywords: Neonatology, Score APGAR, Acupuncture, Cesarean Section, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Received: 19 Feb 2025; Accepted: 31 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lourenço, Pereira, Knupp, Fuchs, Xavier, Mendonça, Tsunemi, Souza and Joaquim. 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:
Maria Lucia Gomes Lourenço, Department of Veterinary Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University, Botucatu, 18618-681, Brazil
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