The Veterinary Nurse – now part of the UK-VET group of titles – is the leading international peer-reviewed journal for veterinary nurses. It publishes evidence-based clinical, educational and practical articles, in addition to the latest nurse-led veterinary research. It promotes gold standard care by supporting readers’ continuing professional development and by sharing best practice worldwide.
Infection control is of paramount importance when placing and maintaining tubes, lines and drains in veterinary patients. This article covers the most commonly placed instruments in veterinary patients and how to care for them at a high standard....
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The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii was initially isolated from the rodent Ctenodactylus gundi, and it has been found worldwide from Alaska to Australia with nearly one third of the human population having been exposed to this parasite. All warm-blooded hosts, including humans, can be infected by any one of its three infective stages: tachyzoites, bradyzoites, and sporozoites. Felids are the definitive hosts of this intracellular pathogen. Although it usually causes mild disease or asymptomatic infection in immunocompetent adults, this parasite can cause devastating disease in congenitally infected children and those with depressed immunity. Because of its zoonotic potential, toxoplasmosis triggers the interest of the diverse medical and veterinary specialities. Consciousness needs to be increased that this disease can produce clinical cases not only in immunocompromised patients or through vertical transmission, but also in healthy patients. In this article, we will review the biology and the epidemiology of this parasite.
Surgery to correct cranial cruciate ligament rupture is commonly performed in both first opinion and referral practice. Following on from part one of this article which discusses the background aetiology, diagnosis and conservative management of cruciate disease, this article looks at the three most commonly performed surgical procedures as treatment options, and rehabilitation of the canine patient post surgery.
There are numerous endo and ectoparasites that can affect domestic rabbits. Many of these may not have a clinical effect on the rabbit and treatment may not therefore be required. However, for those that cause clinical signs it is imperative that early diagnosis and correct treatment is implemented, since any delay in this can have serious consequences for the rabbit's health and welfare, as well as human health, as many are zoonotic.
Clinical audit is about measuring clinical effectiveness, it is part of a quality improvement process with the goal of continuously improving the quality of patient care. Veterinary nurses play a crucial role in preparing for, setting up and running clinical audits, so it is essential that they have a good understanding of the audit process. Thorough preparation for the audit should ensure a successful outcome. This involves choosing a suitable subject which is relevant to the team and measureable, and then deciding whether an outcome, process or significant event audit is the best course of action. Planning how to collect the data, analysing the data once the practice has it and most importantly acting on the results and making any necessary changes are all vital to ensure the practice gets maximum benefit from the clinical audit. A re-audit once changes have been implemented is also a crucial part of the process. The use of audit to benchmark the practice performance against other practices is discussed and there are examples of both outcome and process audits. Introducing simple nursing audits can allow the team to rapidly see the value of the auditing process and real differences made to patient care.
Within a healthcare setting, effective team work is achieved when team members understand, believe...
This case report presents a 6-month-old, male, Miniature Longhaired Dachshund diagnosed with...
