Successful prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a Siamese cat : a case of post-cardiac arrest concerns

Abstract

A 4.5-year-old male neutered Siamese cat was admitted to referral hospital for medical work-up of chronic anorexia and emesis. No severe abnormalities were detected on routine blood work; however thickened gastric wall and small intestines were noted on abdominal ultrasonography. The cat was premedicated with buprenorphine followed by a diazepam-propofol co-induction. Endotracheal intubation was performed, and anaesthesia was maintained using isoflurane in oxygen for endoscopic investigation of the thickened gastric wall and biopsies retrieval. During the anaesthetic recovery, the animal went into cardiopulmonary arrest. Successful ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation) was achieved at approximate 40 minutes (prolonged) post-arrest, and the animal had a survived event (ROSC > 20 minutes). However, failure to identify the inciting cause of the CPA and laxity in the post-cardiac arrest care resulted in rearrest of the cat, 77 hours after the initial ROSC with no success of a second ROSC.