Clinical

Managing exposure to cleaning products in cats and dogs

A detergent is any substance that reduces the surface tension of water; more specifically, it is a surface-active agent (surfactant) that concentrates at oilwater interfaces and possesses emulsifying...

Five myths commonly associated with neutering in dogs

It is widely believed that neutering will help calm boisterous, over-excitable adolescent dogs down. However this is often not the case. In most cases these dogs are receiving insufficient mental...

Mitral valve disease and dilated cardiomyopathy in canines

Normal cardiovascular function provides the body with nutrients and removes metabolic waste. The heart is the pumping force behind this system, and is divided into two sides to prevent mixing of...

Nursing the geriatric equine patient

The geriatric horse can pose a number of problems and the geriatric donkey a few more. The donkey can be more of a cause for concern due to its stoical nature; it is essential that equine veterinary...

Nutritional calculations: a guide for the veterinary healthcare team

Energy is measured in calories (cal), kilocalories (kcal) and kilojoules (kJ): 1 kcal = 1000 cal = 4.184 kJ. Heat is produced following the intake of a meal as a result of digestion and absorption....

Early enteral nutrition in puppies with parvovirus enteritis

In CPV enteritis, infection with parvovirus is acquired by the faecal-oral route of transmission (Goddard and Leisewitz, 2010). By the third to fifth day viraemia is marked, with CPV preferentially...

Initial stabilisation and treatment of traumatic wounds

For any patient presenting with trauma, the initial physical examination or primary survey and assessment needs to be undertaken with a rapid and systematic approach, which will at times require...

Hygiene — a primary tool in infection control

Everyone in the practice, owner/client, veterinary surgeon, veterinary nurse, receptionist, kennel worker/patient care assistant and cleaner is responsible for hygiene of the practice. It is...

Canine osteoarthritis: pathophysiology and management

OA occurs when there is a loss of articular cartilage (Abercromby et al, 2006) as a result of both biological and mechanical events. These events destabilise the normal coupling of degradation and...

Adjunctive analgesics

Adjunctive analgesia has the potential to relieve pain and improve patient comfort in veterinary patients, especially when traditional analgesics alone have failed. This article reviewed some of the...

Canine angiostrongylosis: an update

Historically, A. vasorum distribution has been characterised by a number of highly endemic areas, and low or zero prevalence outside those areas in foxes (Morgan et al, 2008), and few or no cases in...