Managing and Monitoring Acute Adrenal Crisis in Dogs
How should I manage a patient presenting in an acute adrenal crisis?
An adrenal crisis is a true medical emergency as without proper treatment, acute hypoadrenocorticism can be fatal. The blue box below summarises the steps which are usually followed in these cases, and more in depth detail and advice can be found within the adrenal crisis guideline sheet which can be downloaded below.
Steps for management of adrenal crisis
1 - Intravenous fluids
2 - Treatment of hyperkalaemia (If necessary)
3 - Glucocorticoid treatment
4 - Mineralocorticoid treatment
5 - Correction of acidosis
Importantly, Zycortal is not used to address an acute adrenal crisis. In cases which have presented in an acute state, hypoadrenocorticism must be definitively diagnosed before starting long term treatment. It is also important that patients must be stabilised and rehydrated before administration of Zycortal.
Practically, this means patients will receive their first dose of long term medication 4 to 24 hours after fluid therapy.
Adrenal Crisis Guidelines
