Clinical

Endotracheal intubation of the dog and cat

Intubation of the trachea is one of many ways of ensuring the provision of oxygen to the respiratory system but is more usually used primarily to ‘secure the airway’; meaning to prevent foreign...

How to protect the joints of the growing dog

Advice on how to exercise the growing dog should vary depending on breed size, as this affects the timeframe for longitudinal bone growth and growth plate closure. While load-bearing exercise is...

The use of behaviourally-active medication in companion animals part 1

While behaviourally-active drugs comprise several different classes of medication, they can be divided into two main types: short-acting drugs that can be given as needed (Box 1), and drugs that need...

Understanding protein losing enteropathy (PLE)

In a healthy animal, proteins that enter the GIT are digested into amino acids. These amino acids are then reabsorbed by the GIT. As the building blocks of proteins, they are utilised in the synthesis...

How to accurately measure blood pressure

Blood pressure, or more accurately intravascular pressure, is the pressure that blood physically exerts on a vessel wall. This pressure is important because the difference in intravascular pressure at...

Managing nausea in the hospitalised patient

Nausea is believed to be caused by the activation of multiple cortical (forebrain) areas, while vomiting is initiated through activation of the vomiting centre in the medulla oblongata (brain stem)...

Spring poisoning hazards for pets

Both indoor and outdoor domestic fertilisers tend to be ‘NPK-based’, containing nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Various products are available (Figure 1). Houseplant fertilisers are...

The environment, flea products and the need for year round flea control

Fleas are a cause of allergic dermatitis and vectors for a variety of infections including Bartonella henselae (cause of cat scratch disease), Rickettsia felis (cause of spotted fever), Haemoplasma...

Surgical safety checklists from concept to implementation

Human error is not predictable, many factors affect our ability to perform at our best. The full integration of the surgical safety checklist to the usual working practice of the hospital would ensure...