Clinical

Poisons affecting the blood

Anaemia is a reduced number of red blood cells or haemoglobin in the blood and there are three main causes, blood loss (from trauma, for example), decreased red blood cell production or increased red...

Beginners guide to cardiac pharmacology

Heart disease is defined as any abnormality of cardiac structure or function. Heart failure is said to occur when clinical signs of increased tissue water and/or decreased tissue perfusion are...

The regurgitating kitten

The patient presented to the practice with a 1 month history of regurgitation of food, and upper respiratory noise at the point of the cranial chest and at the thoracic inlet.

Initial management of the burn wound patient

Before creating a wound management plan, it is important to establish what caused the burn - for instance the initial stabilisation and treatment of a thermal burn may differ to that of an electrical...

Rehabilitating the canine cruciate patient: part two

Osteotomy techniques such as the TPLO are performed with the goal of altering the joint biomechanics in order to stabilise the stifle joint. Radiographs are performed prior to surgery, and patients...

Don't forget the foal: the nursing requirements of hospitalised foals when the mare is the primary patient

Admitting a mare for treatment at an equine hospital when she has a foal at foot is not comparable to admitting an adult horse with a companion. The foal, even though it is not the primary patient,...

Gastric dilatation volvulus in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)

Susie is an approximately 2–3-year-old female entire guinea pig, and is a Lakeland breed of guinea pig (this is a gene carrier for skinny hairless breed). The patient had been used to breed from...

Management of ticks and tick-borne diseases: challenges and opportunities

Ticks can seriously compromise the health of affected animals through various mechanisms. For example, severe anaemia or immunosuppression can result from blood loss caused by the feeding and...

Skin cytology for the veterinary nurse

The choice of diagnostic technique will depend on the type of lesion that is presented. Where the lesion is superficial, such as an area of erythema, erosion, ulceration or primary lesions like...

Rehabilitating the canine cruciate patient: part one

Given the prominent presentation of cruciate disease, it should be considered in every patient presented for investigation of hind limb lameness (Millis and Levine, 2014). Affected patients may...

Endo and ectoparasites in rabbits

There are numerous parasites, both endo and ectoparasites, that affect rabbits. Some of these are asymptomatic and may play a part in the healthy balance of the rabbit's gastrointestinal tract and do...

Critical care nutrition and supportive feeding methods

The use of feeding tubes in the delivery of nutrition (calories and nutrients) is an important aspect to consider as part of the nutritional assessment. Consideration should be given to calorific...