Never fear when a rabbit stasis patient is near

A hands off exam of the patient in its carrier should be performed first. From this the veterinary nurse can assess if the patient is collapsed or dyspnoeic, which would require immediate critical...

Identifying and treating heart disease in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

The exact reason for CKCS MMVD prevalence is not known. High levels of heritability have been shown, yet there are difficulties in determining why, not least because nearly all CKCS have MMVD, so a...

Nurse parasite clinics and the benefits of routine testing

Coproantigen or faecal flotation can be used as an alternative to routine preventative treatment for intestinal nematodes as long as testing is carried out at least four times a year and the client...

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...

A heart-breaking disease: how to prevent lungworm infection

Angiostrongylosis is notorious for its non-specific clinical manifestations, occasionally asymptomatic nature, and prolonged course—features that add complexity to the diagnosis of this disease....

Dermatophytosis for veterinary nurses

Gaudiano (2005) suggests a thorough history is essential for any good skin workup, and very often a 15 minute consult with a VS is not long enough for this to be achieved. Dermatology clinics with a...

Tick-borne diseases in dogs

Advising clients about prevention of tick bites, especially in the spring and summer months, may help prevent exposure to some dangerous TBDs. Some effective ways to avoid tick bites are to wear...

Approach to the companion animal cancer patient part 1: an overview

Recent research shows that the lifetime risk of cancer is now 1 in every 2 people born since the early 1960s (Ahmad et al, 2015; Cancer Research UK, 2016). Cancer is estimated to affect up to 1 in...

Leishmaniosis in dogs and cats

The prevalence of CanL in endemic regions (Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain) and its expansion towards new, non-endemic locations has increased in recent...

Changes in behaviour in elderly cats and dogs, part 1: causes and diagnosis

The age-related decline in cognitive function in cats and dogs is associated with a number of pathological processes occurring in brain tissue, some of which are similar to the changes seen in...

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...

An introduction to fish diagnostics

House calls for fish cases are the preferred method for investigating fish diseases for several reasons including the ability to view the fish in its natural environment, having access to chemicals...

What is FIV and what does it mean for FIV positive patients?

FIV is a retrovirus that causes immunodeficiency in cats. It is in the same subfamily (lentiviruses) as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Irwin, 2011). It was initially named the Feline...

Pathophysiology and treatment of kidney disease in cats

The kidneys filter approximately 20% of the body’s blood (Aspinall and O’Reilly, 2006). They are responsible for a myriad of tasks, including:.

Evaluation of equine superficial digital flexor tendon lesions

Some tendons are more prone to injury than others; most tendon injuries (97–9%) are reported to occur to the forelimb tendons (Kasashima et al, 2004; Lam et al, 2007), with the superficial digital...