10d (edited) ā¢ Vet Casesāļø
š± Case Study: Why Did Mochi Nearly Die Getting His Bladder Unblocked?
Meet Mochi, a 7-year-old male castrated Domestic Shorthair who comes in unable to urinate. His belly is rock hard and he can barely lift his head. Classic urethral obstruction.
But when you hook him up to the ECG before sedation, something stops you cold.
Heart rate: 28 beats per minute. No visible P waves anywhere on the strip. Wide bizarre QRS complexes developing a sinusoidal shape. You check his bloodwork immediately.
Potassium: 9.4 mEq/L.
Mochiās obstructed bladder has been silently poisoning his heart for hours. The backed-up potassium has suppressed his sinoatrial node, wiped out his P waves, and is now pushing his heart toward ventricular fibrillation.
You reach for calcium gluconate 10%, not the urinary catheter. The calcium does not lower his potassium but it immediately stabilizes his cardiac membrane, pulling him back from the edge. Then fluids, insulin with dextrose, and finally the catheter.
Twenty minutes later his heart rate is 72 and P waves reappear on the strip.
š” The takeaway: In a blocked cat, always check the ECG before reaching for the catheter. The heart may need saving first.
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š± Case Study: Why Did Mochi Nearly Die Getting His Bladder Unblocked?
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