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Gabapentin and Amantadine for Chronic Pain: Is Your Dose Right?
Senior Patients Dealing with Chronic Pain The most common cause of chronic maladaptive pain is osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease. Pain is not always a bad thing, and all pain is not the same. Acute (protective) pain differs from chronic (maladaptive) pain in terms of function and treatment. This article describes the types of pain, …
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Clinical Approaches to Common Ocular Tumors
LOW METASTATIC POTENTIAL The overall prognosis for life in most primary intraocular neoplasias is good. In companion animals, intraocular tumors are relatively uncommon, but those that do occur can be primary, metastatic, or locally invasive. Tumors can appear as discrete masses, diffuse changes, or even after uveitis. Learning to recognize the presence of a mass …
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Gait Abnormality: Musculoskeletal or Neurologic Condition?
TIME-SAVING ASSESSMENT Have a veterinary nurse video record the patient’s gait with a smartphone. When an animal is presented to you with a history of lameness or a gait abnormality, you need to determine whether the problem is musculoskeletal, neurologic, or both, so you can recommend the appropriate treatment. To arrive at an appropriate diagnosis, …
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Feline Medicine Sedation for Cats with Cardiovascular Disease
MINIMIZING ANESTHESIA RISKS There are no safe sedative or anesthetic drugs, just safe delivery practices. Cats represent a large part of the US pet population; as of 2012, the approximately 74.1 million cats outnumbered the approximately 69.9 million dogs in this country. Although these numbers represent an overall decline in dog and cat populations, the …
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Feline Medicine Pandora Syndrome in Cats: Diagnosis and Treatment
PRACTICING CAT FRIENDLY The articles presented by the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) focus on feline-specific information on cats’ unique behaviors; diagnosis and evaluation of disease and conditions; better approaches and techniques for cats; and strategies to decrease stress associated with the veterinary visit for cats, caregivers, and your team. LOWER URINARY SIGNS? Consider …
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Critical Care Are Normal Electrolytes Really Normal?
Electrolyte disturbances are frequently encountered in veterinary patients and may warrant close evaluation and monitoring. Diseases of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract and endocrinopathies often result in changes to electrolytes.1-3 Accurate initial assessment and serial monitoring for trends in electrolyte disturbances are essential to guide appropriate treatment of the underlying condition. However, in certain situations, …
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Understanding the Cat
PRACTICING CAT FRIENDLY The articles presented by American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) focus on feline-specific information on cats’ unique behaviors; diagnosis and evaluation of disease and conditions; better approaches and techniques for cats; and strategies to decrease stress associated with the veterinary visit for cats, caregivers, and your team. BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES Cats caged against …
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Head Tilt in Dogs: A Clinical Approach
Head tilt in dogs (FIGURE 1) is a clinical presentation that most veterinarians encounter frequently in practice. When a patient presents for evaluation of a head tilt, it can sometimes be challenging to know the best course of diagnostics to recommend and whether or what primary treatment is warranted. Differentiation of the varied clinical presentations …
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Practice Step by Step: Providing Supplemental Oxygen to Patients
SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN TECHNIQUE For larger dogs, nasal lines can be easily placed using a cathether inserted via the ventral meatus to the level of the medial canthus. Supplemental oxygen is an important treatment for animals with signs of respiratory distress. Hypoxia refers to low tissue oxygen concentrations and can occur for several reasons (TABLE 1). …
