Clinical

Faecal-oral parasite transmission and the veterinary nurse's role in education

Toxocara spp. are a group of intestinal nematodes with species infecting dogs (Toxocara canis) and cats (Toxocara cati), both of which have zoonotic potential. Adult worms lie in the small intestine...

Poisons affecting the kidney

Poisoning can result in adverse effects on the kidney through a variety of mechanisms, including formation of toxic metabolites, interference with normal physiological process and, in some cases,...

A multimodal approach to hindlimb surgical analgesia: femoral and sciatic nerve blocks

In a recent review, Hunt et al (2015) provided an overview of analgesia prescription in veterinary practice by use of questionnaire; they concluded that there has been a marked increase in...

Behavioural first aid advice for canine patients

It is not the intention of this article to explain the ethology of the dog, but some good books are available (Horwitz and Mills, 2009; Hedges, 2014), and these will assist staff in developing an...

Early enteral nutrition: indications, benefits and complications

Eating was specifically considered in the Ability Model's patient assessment framework (Orpet and Welsh, 2011), demonstrating that this should not be overlooked while creating a nursing care plan...

Canine flea control — what the veterinary nurse needs to know

The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, belongs to the Order Siphonaptera and the Family Pulicidae. Despite its name the cat flea is recognised as the most common and important ectoparasite of...

Canine diabetes mellitus

Canine diabetes mellitus is a complex endocrinopathy, with a pathogenesis that varies amongst individuals, but is clinically similar in most dogs to Type I diabetes in humans (Shields et al, 2015;...

Why integrate preventative behavioural advice and first aid into routine practice?

Annually, more pets are euthanased, abandoned or rehomed for behavioural reasons than as a result of medical problems (Overall, 2013); and the majority of these animals are under 3 years of age. This...

Cruciate ligament disease and the role of the Balto Knee Brace

The role of the cranial (alongside the caudal) cruciate ligament, which originates from within the intercondylar notch of the distal femur and inserts on the intercondylar area of the tibial plateau,...

How to perform fluid therapy

Following initial examination and diagnostics the VS will have established issues with hydration, tissue perfusion and fluid volume or loss, will prioritise their aims or goals, will select the most...

Nursing the feline patient following surgical management of idiopathic pericardial effusion by subtotal pericardiectomy

The patient presented as an emergency referral following a 10-day history of lethargy, hyporexia, urethral obstruction which was previously resolved and dyspnoea due to pleural effusion. 90 ml of...

Canine atopic dermatitis — the veterinary ‘eczema’ nurse

A range of antihistamines have been described for use in CAD. Although there are anecdotal reports to suggest that antihistamines play an important role in the control of CAD there is only very...