Vet Times

Tag: Respiratory

  • Pulse oximetry is great, but know its limitations

    Pulse oximetry is great, but know its limitations

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    Pulse oximetry is a very useful diagnostic and monitoring tool that has become commonplace in veterinary clinics. It measures the percentage of haemoglobin saturated with oxygen, and is an indirect measure of arterial oxygen levels. However, here are several important points to help you understand the limitations of pulse oximetry. Causes for false readings Falsely…

  • Summer hazards for beach dogs

    Summer hazards for beach dogs

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    Dan Amos

    The recent hot weather has been fabulous in many ways – my Scottish skin has decided to tan, I’m sea swimming most days and I’m back in my archive – roll on a summer of fun and vet history. But there is a blot on the landscape that causes my RVN brain some stress during…

  • Anaesthetic risks: when complacency sets in

    Anaesthetic risks: when complacency sets in

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    Adverse events during anaesthesia in otherwise young and healthy patients is a rare occurrence. However, with low incidence of adverse events could come an increased risk of complacency on the part of the veterinary team. Take the following case as an example: “Clicky” is a young and healthy cat that underwent a routine dental prophylaxis…

  • Naming names

    Naming names

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    Dan Amos

    The naming of all things medical has always interested me… just who was Lister and how did he create his bandage scissors? Is there a Mr Gelpi around whose great-grandfather invented the retractors? Surgical instruments, surgical procedures and diseases have been given a variety of weird and wonderful names over the years. However, regardless of…

  • Mentor tip: CSF taps

    Mentor tip: CSF taps

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    I remember my first CSF tap; my hands were shaking – not ideal when you are advancing a needle towards the spinal cord. If you go a couple of millimetres too far, the needle goes into the spinal cord and it could cause the patient to go into respiratory arrest. Some things I am happy…

  • Eosinophils: worms, wheezes, and weird diseases

    Eosinophils: worms, wheezes, and weird diseases

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    Unless you’re a parasitic nematode (and I suspect the majority of you reading this aren’t) or suffer from an allergy (probably a bit more likely), it’s hard not to be a little bit excited when you see an eosinophil. Just like their brothers-in-arms, the neutrophils, eosinophils are part of the front-line defences of the immune…

  • Festive threats to four-legged family members

    Festive threats to four-legged family members

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    Kele Harris

    Now well into December, and getting ever closer to Christmas, there will be an abundance of “goodies” around the house that are not so good for the four-legged family members. Most owners are aware of the dangers of chocolate and so are likely to rush down to the vet on Boxing Day when their Labrador…

  • The wrong end of the telephone

    The wrong end of the telephone

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    Kele Harris

    A couple of weeks ago, I received the phone call I’ve been dreading since moving away to university. My horse had had an accident in the field, hurt her leg, and the vet was on the way. That’s all the information I received until the next call, with the vet on the other end. “Communication…