This is an idea that’s been gathering pace for a while. It’s a few years since I was in general practice but, even then, I was starting to find that having ultrasound in the consult room was immensely useful for a lot of cases as a triage tool and extension of the physical examination. The … Continue reading
Recently I’ve seen two three-month-old dogs with multiple (numerous) small portosystemic shunts in the absence of inflammatory liver disease. The patient whose images are presented below was examined on account of acute encephalopathy with bile acids >130 umol/l and ALT > 600 (ref <100). The same in video: This flow courses via colic veins to enter … Continue reading
The patient here is a 3 y.o. FN mini Schnauzer with bilateral ureteral calculi and plasma urea >40 mmol/L, creatinine 500umol/L. This patient very likely had pyelonephritis (UTI is present in something like 80% of dogs with ureteral calculi…much more so than in cats) although she lacked signs of sepsis. The interesting thing is … Continue reading
This is a difficult topic: anaphylaxis never comes with nice confirmatory histopathology, clinical pathology or advanced imaging. It’s a clinical diagnosis based on pattern recognition (acute onset and rapid remission, usually with prompt and full recovery, are important features). Partly for this reason I believe that it’s probably still widely under-diagnosed. At least, personally-speaking, I … Continue reading
The patient here is a 1 y.o. MN Labrador with a lifelong history of intermittent diarrhoea without specific diagnosis. He had been treated routinely with prophylactic moxidectin. Presenting complaint on this occasion was acute onset vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy and ‘red eyes’ within 48 hrs of changing from chicken-based diet to lamb-based. On physical examination he … Continue reading
This idea came to us via the excellent: J Vet Med. 2013; 2013: 217314.Sternal Aspiration of Bone Marrow in Dogs: A Practical Approach for Canine Leishmaniasis Diagnosis and MonitoringRosa Paparcone, 1 Eleonora Fiorentino, 2 Silvia Cappiello, 1 Manuela Gizzarelli, 1 Luigi Gradoni, 2 Gaetano Oliva, 1 , * and Valentina Foglia Manzillo 1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4590857/ Their … Continue reading
*Note on nomenclature: torasemide is effectively the WHO official name; torsemide the US name. In human CHF management we have a good, bang-up-to-date meta-analysis comparing furosemide with torasemide: Am J Cardiol. 2020 Jan 1;125(1):92-99Meta-Analysis Comparing Torsemide Versus Furosemide in Patients With Heart Failure.Abraham B1, Megaly M2, Sous M3, Fransawyalkomos M4, Saad M5, Fraser R2, Topf … Continue reading
I am starting to think that examination of the neck might be a useful part of the routine sonographic examination for cats and dogs: especially in complex cases. In addition to those with sepsis, foreign bodies, thyroid disease, lymphadenopathy or salivary gland changes, patients with impaired oesophageal function are sometimes picked up. Some animals with … Continue reading
There’s a nice JSAP paper by Livia Benigni from a few years back which revealed the variability in distribution of pulmonary oedema in the lungs of cats with congestive heart failure. J Small Anim Pract. 2009 Jan;50(1):9-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2008.00655.x. Epub 2008 Aug 13.Radiographic appearance of cardiogenic pulmonary oedema in 23 cats.Benigni L1, Morgan N, … Continue reading
I think this may be an under-appreciated phenomenon. Since, this article appeared: Biomed Res Int. 2016;2016:4727054Prevalence and Prognosis of Anemia in Dogs with Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease.Yu IB1, Huang HP1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5093253/ I’ve been more switched on to the fact that a proportion of our ‘routine’ mitral valve disease patients indeed are mildly anaemic and without … Continue reading
