pleural effusion...

I have been wanting to write this post for quite some time now...but just didn't know how...
You see, it is about my dog, who isn't with me any longer and I don't want to sound like I am looking for someone to blame - cause I don't. It is just that this bothers me and I want to put an end to it...

As some of you might remember my dog stopped eating and when we went to the vet he did a blood test and determined he was dehydrated. The blood test was normal, there was just slight elevation in blood sugar (but not enough for diabetes). But when the X - ray of the chest was taken everything that should be black was white - you couldn't see any heart or lung structure. But there was something like tumor in there the vet said...
The dog went to IV, but after taking the x-ray the vet said that he doesn't know if it is fluid in the chest or metastized tissue...To determine if it was fluid he said he will give the dog diuretic and we should come back in 4 days to see if there was any improvement (=fluid)...
Than he gave him injection of diuretics and he also gave me diuretic pills to give him at home every 12 hrs.
After we came home I was giving my dog water to drink every half an hour during the day and every two hours at night (he wouldn't drink otherwise), I also gave him some food.
The same evening he fell on the floor on his, I don't really know how to explain it. He fell forward, like his front feet were underneath him, his back legs were apart. But he stood up with some trouble when I asked him to.
The next morning he ate some canned food and I was so relieved because he ate the whole can which he hadnt done for days. While eating, he kinda fell forward again but I managed to catch him and calmed him down.
Later he fell asleep at my feet and he never woke up...
I was devastated and did a research on the net...And after what I have read I am not sure he was given the best treatment possible...
I read that pleural effusion is not a condition by itself, it is ussually caused by some organ failure or tumors, protein defficency and such. And there are basically four kinds of treatment - oxygen mask to help with the breathing, IV, sucking the fluids out with a needle (what kind of fluid) and diuretics...The vet should take the sample of the fluid to determine the cause of pleural effusion.
well, my vet took just one X-ray and did a general blood sample but he never tried to ID the kind of fluid in his chest, he never gave him oxygen...
Instead he send me home with diuretics...And after thinking about it (yes, I did do a lot of thinking about it) it just doesn't make sense to me...We went to IV, but than there is no logic in giving a dehydrated dog diuretics, is it? Especially as the vet didn't even know if it is fluid in his chest at all or a tumor...
I just can't help but think that maybe diuretics killed my dog. That maybe if I didn't go to the vet he would still be with me. Cause in the end he died of dehydration - we never determined why but his body just couldn't accept water anymore - he just pied everything out...

Anyway, as I have said, I am not looking for someone to blame...But I just wanted to know if there are some vets or vet nurses on this forum, or some owners whose dogs have suffered from this disease...What do you think about the treatment my dog was given? Would other vets do something different? Why would a vet give dehydrated dog diuretics? It just doesn't make sense to me...
Anyhow, I know there is nothing that can bring him back, but I just want to know if there was anything I could have done...

Thanks

oh i feel so sorry for you, it must be so hard not knowing exactly what was best. Did you get an autopsy done to determine cause of death?

can only offer hugs and sympathy am afraid as am not in the dog health profession.

Sincerest sympathies from me too.

So sorry for your loss, and sorry to be reading this.

I have no idea on the treatment of your dog, so I can't comment on that. I can only imagine that diuretics were maybe used to encourage your dogs to take a drink by replacing salts or something? I really don't have a clue about them, all I know is that there are a few different kinds of diuretic drugs.

No wonder you are feeling at a loss as to why you lost your dog. I hope you manage to find some answers, somewhere. All the best to you.

Nadja,

I'm so pleased you are still visiting this forum, I was worried you might not come back after what happened. I only know one vet-nurse on here LorrianeVN but she doesn't come here often, I'll send an e-mail to her tonight and if you agree I'll copy and paste your post.

As I expect your friends and teachers at the Uni will have told you it's incredibly difficult to prove neglience but there's many on Dogsey who have had bad or incorrect advice from their vet.

Hi Nadja I well remember you losing your dog a little while ago .

I am not a vet but with the little experience I have I will try to look at what happened , draw conclusions and put them in simple terms based on your posts in the hope this may help you....

Your dogs lungs were filing with fluid (or some other substance as indicated by the x-ray) this could have been due to a number of causes including a heart condition/malignant tumour.
If the cause of the condition was say an advanced tumour, I guess giving oxygen would have only been a temporary measure. Aspiration (attempting to remove any fluid with a needle) would not have been appropriate because the substance wasn't fluid.
Maybe the vet thought the best course of action was to give your dog medication short term in order to see if it was effective and to try to ascertain the cause of the problem (you were due to return to the vet in 4 days) . We don't know exactly what medication was used or which diuretic, had this treatment been effective and the lungs cleared a little the vet might then have been able to assess the nature of the problem/size of the tumour and it would have given some indication that the condition was supportable with medication at least in the short term.
Also depending on the cause/severity of the condition had the vet not given diuretics your dog may have 'drowned' anyway because of the accumulated fluid in its lungs.


Because your dog sadly died so rapidly, this could have been an indication that his condition was at an advanced stage . If the mass in the lungs was a tumour, it could have been a secondary tumour with others elsewhere in the body. I can only try to surmise with my limited knowledge ,I doubt the death of your dog would have been connected to diuretics.
The best person to talk to is your vet who will be able to explain things in detail to you, don't hesitate to ask him, you are a paying customer and have the right to ask if you don't fully understand something.


I'm afraid sad as it is sometimes we just have to accept that there was nothing we could have done to save a much loved dog . I was in a similar situation in March when I found my lovely puppy aged 9 months was dying of kidney failure, we tried everything possible to help her no expense spared, but any relief was temporary and our efforts were useless, something I have just had to accept... (hugs x)