Administering Canine Plasma Products: Thaw, Dose and Overload Watch

Key takeaways

• Frozen plasma is brittle — handle and thaw carefully.
• Standard coagulopathy dose band: about 10–30 mL/kg to effect.
• Cryoprecipitate: about 1 unit/10 kg (unit ≈ 60 mL).
• Filter required; 4-hour breached-unit rule still applies.
• Plasma is a weak albumin strategy; overload risk is real at high volumes.

Thaw and setup

1. Thaw at room temperature or in a monitored water bath ≤37°C.
2. Protect ports with a sealed bag while in water.
3. Hang, aseptically spike with blood set/filter, label, start clock.

Once breached, discard leftovers after 4 hours at room temperature. Split units if infusion will exceed that window.

Dosing

• FFP / FP / cryosupernatant for coagulopathy: 10–30 mL/kg, guided by clotting times and bleeding.
• Cryoprecipitate: ~1 unit/10 kg; may need more if actively bleeding (vWD/haemophilia).
• Pre-op coagulopathy cover: finish dosing within ~4 hours of the procedure when used prophylactically.
• Hypoalbuminaemia: high volumes (e.g. around 30 mL/kg CRI concepts) can raise albumin modestly but risk volume overload — synthetic colloids/nutrition/underlying disease treatment usually matter more.

Rates

Same philosophy as red cells: 0.5–1 mL/kg/h for 15–30 minutes, then often 5–10 mL/kg/h if stable, or 1–2 mL/kg/h if volume-sensitive. Pumps are more commonly acceptable for plasma than for red cells — still confirm manufacturer guidance.

Typing/cross-match notes for plasma

Type if red cells may be needed later. Cross-match is not always required before plasma in naïve dogs, but prior reactions or multiple plasma exposures raise caution.

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