Assessment of degree of dehydration in animals:
Degree of dehydration is assessed through recession of eyeball into orbit, time taken by folded skin to subside. For skin tenting test, skin of neck and lateral thorax are pinched between fingers, rotating the skin fold 90° and time required to disappear skin fold is noted. Normally time should be <2s.
|
Degree of dehydration (%) |
Sunken Eye |
Retention of skin fold/sec |
Hematocrit value (%) |
Fluid required (ml/kg, b.wt.) |
|
4-8 (Mild) |
Not sunken |
Absent |
40-45 |
15-25 |
|
6-8 (Moderate) |
Barely visible |
2-4 |
50 |
30-50 |
|
8-10 (Severe) |
Pronounced |
6-10 |
55 |
50-80 |
|
10-12 (Shock) |
More pronounced |
20-45 |
60 |
80-150 |