Clinical

Cardiovascular monitoring of the canine gastric dilatation volvulus patient

Initial therapy is aimed at stabilisation prior to general anaesthesia, although a prolonged surgical delay is not recommended due to worsening gastric and splenic ischaemia (Broome and Walsh, 2003)....

Practical behavioural first aid for rabbits

An understanding of the natural lifestyle of rabbits makes it easy to see why the traditional way of keeping rabbits impacts on their welfare. What an owner considers to be a behaviour problem may...

Stress and anxiety implications on long-term patients — nursing considerations

The ICU is regarded as the most stressful place in the hospital due to the high intensity of cases, the noise of machines, and artificial lighting. A study conducted by Fullagar et al (2015) measuring...

Low-stress handling for long-term wound care

Mariti et al (2017) discovered that dogs which were uncomfortable with their owners carrying out procedures at home would also be intolerant of the veterinary nurse or surgeon doing the same in the...

Surgical treatment options for hip dysplasia

As the name suggests, this is removal of the head and neck of the affected femur with the outcome being immediate relief from the pain of OA or the prevention of symptoms of OA (Harper, 2017). The...

The use of quality of life scales for hospice and end-of-life patients

As seen from the case studies above there are some limitations to the use of QOL scales alone. Most QOL scales are concerned primarily with health-related measures (Mullan, 2015), such as appetite,...

Practical behavioural first aid for feline patients

Having evolved as a territorial species that predated on rodents, but that was also predated on by larger carnivores (Bradshaw et al, 2012), the cat is effectively, constantly, asking itself ‘Am I...

The role of infection control in the prevention of the transmission of feline viruses

It is fortunate that in the present day, most cats will travel to the clinic in a secure carrier that reduces the possibility of patients coming directly into contact with each other. Viruses that are...

Vector-borne parasite transmission in the UK and the role of the veterinary nurse in education

Strategies to limit vector-borne disease rely on a combination of practical control measures and preventative drug treatments; these form the basis of control protocols for individual pets. As the...

Preparing, monitoring and recovering the thoracic surgery patient

The acute presentation patient will always demand the most attention from those in the practice and it will be necessary to consider whether the patient is dyspnoeic and/or has increased...

Feline systemic hypertension: the how and why of blood pressure

Blood pressure is the force exerted on the vessel wall which is measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg). Blood pressure is affected by two factors; cardiac output, or the amount of blood ejected...

Nursing a diabetic patient with hypoglycaemia — a nursing care report

A 15-year-old domestic short-haired cat was presented with a sudden onset of vomiting and disorientation. Initial contact from the owner was made over the telephone; this telephone conversation...