The decision-making process for liver biopsy is quite complicated: many factors are patient-specific. We’re always happy to discuss individual cases. If we need histopathology or assessment of copper levels then it’s important to consider risk factors for post-op bleeding. It’s not always a black or white decision. In many cases, there’s a grey area where … Continue reading
My impression, from a UK veterinary perspective, is that lung ultrasound (LUS) gets variable press. Specifically, most specialist cardiologists don’t much care for it. It’s useful to understand why this is. It’s no coincidence that LUS was discovered and developed primarily by human acute care physicians in intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency departments. Looking … Continue reading
The FAT CAT study of 2015: Hogan DF, Fox PR, Jacob K, et al. Secondary prevention of cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism in the cat: the double-blind, randomized, positive-controlled feline arterial thromboembolism; clopidogrel vs aspirin trial (FAT CAT). J Vet Cardiol 2015; 17: S306–S317 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26776588/ …demonstrated superiority of clopidogrel over aspirin in cats with a history of … Continue reading
Broadly-speaking, it’s a bit easier these days to persuade pet-owners that antibiotics may not always be necessary, I still feel, however, that the potential negative effects are widely under-appreciated. Certainly, with clients, I always feel that they see the main reason to avoid antibiotics as helping avoid resistance in the population as a whole. The … Continue reading
There are still relatively few peer-reviewed publications documenting sonographic changes associated with FIP in domestic cats. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. May-Jun 2010;46(3):152-60. Abdominal ultrasonographic findings associated with feline infectious peritonitis: a retrospective review of 16 casesKristin M Lewis 1, Robert T O’Brien https://meridian.allenpress.com/jaaha/article-abstract/46/3/152/209566/Abdominal-Ultrasonographic-Findings-Associated?redirectedFrom=fulltext Lewis and O’Brien remains the most comprehensive account. The only caveat is … Continue reading
As I might have said before, lung ultrasound is the gift that keeps on giving. In the beginning lung ultrasound wasn’t even a thing; then it became all the rage and we recognised some fundamental patterns. With time we’ve worked out some more subtleties and developed new understanding of concepts that we previously thought we … Continue reading
This is one of those issues. Working in primary care practice I never really understood why people prescribed beta-blockers to cats with HCM. However, writing referral reports is good discipline: it forces you to think a bit more about what you’re suggesting. Now, I’m sure it’s complicated! Presumably, it’s widely used in pre-clinical cases because … Continue reading
Hot off the JSAP press we have just been reading the new and exciting: J Small Anim Pract 2021 Mar;62(3):178-186Diagnostic accuracy of a lung ultrasound protocol (Vet BLUE) for detection of pleural fluid, pneumothorax and lung pathology in dogs and catsL Cole, M Pivetta, K Humm https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.13271 ‘Results: When using CT as the reference standard, … Continue reading
Traditionally, there has been a concern that pimobendan, a positive inotrope (inodilator), would be contraindicated in the presence of outflow tract obstruction. Obviously, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction is a big deal in cats because hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the commonest feline heart disease and many of them exhibit dynamic or fixed obstruction. To the best … Continue reading
I don’t know about you guys but I think I left vet school with the distinct impression that too much diuretic can lead to reduced arterial pressure and thus reduced renal perfusion and azotaemia. This simple picture does seem to have now been superseded. I like this up-to-date summary from the human literature: Change in … Continue reading
