Category: Veterinary students

Christmas Dangers!

Christmas can be a very busy time for veterinary clinics; here are a list of common intoxications and conditions to keep an eye out on during this festive period. Chocolate There are numerous online calculators to determine whether a toxic dose has been consumed – they are a great place

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PCV/TP – How To Get The Most Out of This Simple Test

The packed cell volume (PCV) and total protein (TP) is a simple yet informative laboratory test, but one that is often misinterpreted or under-utilised. It is important to remember that all test results need to be interpreted in the light of the patient’s history, presenting clinical signs and general physical

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GDV: The Recovery

Postoperatively, gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) patients remain in our intensive care unit for at least two to three days. Monitoring includes standard general physical examination parameters, invasive arterial blood pressures, ECG, urine output via urinary catheter and pain scoring. I repeat PCV/total protein, lactate, blood gas and activated clotting times (ACT)

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GDV: The Surgery

Part Three: Surgery Tips  Recently in my GDV blog series, I discussed releasing the pressure and decompression, this time I want to focus on surgery. Abdominal Incision: Make the abdominal incision large – from the xipoid to the pubis. You cannot perform a proper exploratory laparotomy without proper visualisation. Additionally,

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GDV: Releasing The Pressure

Gastric Decompression  In the last blog we covered IV fluid resuscitation and pain relief. This time we will go into more detail about gastric decompression. There are two ways that gastric decompression can be achieved: 1) Trocarisation 2) Stomach tube (orogastric tube) placement The decision on which method to use

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GDV: Resuscitation

Resuscitation Last month we covered a bit of pathophysiology, presenting clinical signs and the radiographic diagnosis of gastric dilation and volvulus (GDV). Now we cover the three things you need to do as soon as a suspected patient is presented. As discussed, you can often make a presumptive diagnosis without

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Euthanasia Part 2 – Caring for the Patient

  Last week we discussed the importance of caring for the client during the process of euthanasia of their much loved pet. This month, we focus on your patient. The goals of euthanasia are always to make it as painless, fearless and stress-free as possible for the patient. A vast majority

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Euthanasia Part 1 – Caring for the Human

  Euthanasia is a big part of our work as veterinarians. It is something I have to face on every shift working in an emergency setting. It doesn’t get any easier no matter how many times I have to do it, but I have fine-tuned my approach over the years

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Vet Surgery – Emergency Splenectomy

Emergency Splenectomy This patient presented in a collapsed state.  There was no choice apart an emergency splenectomy to save this patients life. Watch to see how we got this patient back from the brink of death and through surgery.

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Effusion Analysis (Part 2)

  Effusion Evaluation: Last week we talked about how to determine if your effusion was septic. This week, let’s have a look into further evaluation of effusion samples. If the effusion is haemorrhagic, here are some things to look out for. Real or iatrogenic origin: Blood rapidly defibrinates in cavities so

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Making Sense of Effusions (Part 1)

  Is Your Patient Septic? Interpreting effusion samples can be confusing. Try to think of effusions as if you were collecting a blood sample. Many of your in-clinic diagnostic tests that apply to blood samples also apply to effusions, such as PCV/TP, smears, glucose, lactate, potassium, creatinine and bilirubin. It

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