Never fear when a rabbit stasis patient is near

Abstract

Managing a gut stasis rabbit can be very challenging for a veterinary team. The goal should be to resolve the acute, potentially life-threatening condition, to then allow the veterinary surgeon to diagnose the cause of why the gastrointestinal stasis has occurred in the first place. Given the nature of these patients and how high maintenance they can be, a lot of the monitoring and care falls on the veterinary nurse. The veterinary nurse becomes the eyes and ears for the veterinary surgeon and the information that is passed on to them can impact the treatment plan of the patient. Some veterinary nurses may find this daunting and, certainly in the author's own practice, some nurses enjoy working with rabbits more than others. The aim, as a cohesive team, has been to create a protocol which everyone can use to standardise how stasis patients are treated and boost the confidence of less experienced team members.