Tag: Dogs
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Dystocia, pt 4: caesarean tips
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Prolonged hypoxaemia, hypotension and hypoventilation are the top three causes of periparturient fetal mortality – for these reasons, all precautions must be taken to avoid it. As soon as authorisation has been obtained to proceed with a caesarean section, the patient should be stabilised immediately. This includes having perioperative blood work performed, and clinical hypoperfusion…
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Dystocia, pt 2: diagnostics
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Part one of this series covered the stages of labour and indications dystocia is present. Once the bitch presents to the clinic, a few basic diagnostic checks need completing to determine the status of the bitch/queen and the fetuses. Physical examination The first is a thorough physical examination, starting with the bitch or queen: Demeanour,…
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Dystocia, pt 1: labour stages
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Now most female canine patients are spayed, it comes as no surprise reproductive emergencies are not as common. One confusion seems to be not knowing how to determine a true dystocia emergency – especially when given advice over the telephone – from the process of normal parturition. Another concern is how to confidently form a…
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Pancreatitis, pt 2: treatment and prognosis
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Last week we covered diagnosing pancreatitis and the challenges associated with doing so. This week we look at management. The treatment of pancreatitis largely involves supportive care and monitoring for potential complications. Here, we recap the fundamentals. IV fluids IV fluids are critical in the acute phase to restore perfusion to core organs and correct…
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Pancreatitis, pt 1: diagnosis
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Pancreatitis is one of the most common exocrine conditions seen in small animal practice. It is caused by premature activation of enzymes (zymogens) within the pancreas leading to autodigestion, and can result in severe morbidity with the potential to lead to mortality. To this day, the diagnosis of pancreatitis remains a challenge – especially in…
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Recycling at the heart of things
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As a PhD student you get access to placements that can expand on your skills. Many of these for historians like myself are in archives or publishing but they weren’t really for me. So, when the opportunity to be a researcher for the TV show Horrible Histories came up, I jumped at the chance, and,…
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Seizures, part 2: the differentials
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In part one of this series we discussed the important questions to ask when taking a history from owners of dogs and cats that are having seizures. In this part, we look at the differential diagnoses for these cases. There are many ways to classify the different causes of seizures, but the simplest is as…
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Seizures, part 1: the questions to ask
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Clients often panic when they think their pet is having a seizure and can skip over vital information. Often, what an owner describes as a “fit” may actually be syncope, collapse from anaphylaxis or internal haemorrhage (for example, neoplasia), a vestibular event or a behavioural condition. True seizures True seizures can be divided into two…
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Hyponatraemia, pt 2: causes
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The causes of hyponatraemia can be divided into three major categories, based on serum osmolality. This is further divided based on the patient’s volume status (Table 1). Most patients we see in clinic fall into the hypovolaemic category, except patients with diabetes mellitus. Table 1. Causes of hyponatraemia based on osmolality and volume status (from…
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Hyponatraemia, pt 1: clinical signs
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Hyponatraemia is a relatively common electrolyte disturbance encountered in critically ill patients, and the most common sodium disturbance of small animals. In most cases, this is caused by an increased retention of free water, as opposed to the loss of sodium in excess of water. Low serum sodium concentration Hyponatraemia is defined as serum concentration…