If you’ve been keeping up with our blog posts over the last few months, you’ll know that we’re on a campaign to reduce plastic pollution in the veterinary industry, and the world in general. Today, we’re investigating an interesting new idea to deal with the unavoidable plastic that accumulates in your practice: the ecobrick.
I am a third-year veterinary student at the University of Surrey with a strong passion for small animal nutrition. All our nutrition teaching has been integrated into our modules and in our first year, we learnt about the role of nutrition in preventative medicine. However, when I have seen practice, and indeed when pet food companies come and talk to us, nutrition is only discussed as part of disease and treatment.
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Many common respiratory diseases in dogs and cats are primarily inflammatory in nature. These include lymphocytic-plasmacytic rhinitis, chronic bronchitis, asthma and eosinophilic bronchopneumonia. Historically, the treatment of choice for these diseases included systemic corticosteroids given chronically to control these chronic conditions.
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Part two of Dr Diane Addie’s set of webinars covering the diagnosis of dry and wet FIP was every bit as good as her first webinar delivered last year. Last week’s discussion covered the topic of dry FIP which, according to Dr Addie, is one of the most over and under diagnosed conditions in the cat. This is obviously a contradiction but Dr Addie explained that with a differential list as long as your arm, there are a number of diseases that dry FIP can mimic.
The Great Pretender’ is a term often given to canine mast cell tumours (MCT) due to their ability to mimic a variety of conditions. Sometimes they are rapidly growing, erythematous masses which clearly warrant further investigation, but at other times they can look and feel like a simple lipoma which can make it easy to assume these masses are completely innocent. For this reason it is essential, if at all possible, to perform a fine needle aspirate on all masses encountered within the consulting room.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sits on a precipice. He has 30 days to enact a new bill that will ban declawing cats, which would make New York the first state to outlaw the controversial practice. If he chooses to ratify it, Cuomo will massively disrupt the normal model of cat ownership in New York. Most cats in New York are indoor cats, which means they don’t require their claws to hunt or climb. Many vets declaw cats automatically when they spay or neuter them. This attitude contrasts with other countries, where declawing is not routine, and many vets consider it cruel.
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The placebo effect is a curious one. By all standards of medical science, it shouldn’t work. We are sick, we take a pill which we are told will cure us, and we get better. But then the twist – there was no actual medicine in that pill! Somehow, you were cured without doing anything except believing that you are being treated.
Incomplete ossification of the humeral condyle (IOHC) is a condition most commonly encountered within the spaniel breed indicating that genetic factors play an important role in its development. However, Toby Gemmill who led last week’s webinar considers its common name, IOHC, a misnomer as it points towards a particular pathogenesis, which is not correct.
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So many questions enter my head when I’m told by a concerned receptionist that a whelping bitch is on the way to the practice. Is this bitch owned by an experienced breeder or a complete novice? Is this a brachycephalic breed, notorious for having problems or a young fit and healthy crossbreed? What stage of labour is this bitch in and how long has it been going on for? These questions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the information required for vets to make the correct decisions for both bitch and puppies.
This webinar threw up statistics which were both reassuring and alarming. In 1999 only 50% of vets prescribed analgesia for patients undergoing routine surgery but reassuringly ,in 2013, 98% now give opiates and/or NSAIDs. However when you analyse this data further it showed that 75% of vets give NSAIDs to dogs undergoing surgery but alarmingly only 33.4% give NSAIDs to cats.
About the webinars Mental health is a crisis right now in the veterinary industry, with UK vets said to be three to four times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. The pandemic has only worsened feelings of burnout and pushed many vets to a near-breaking point. Therefore, Vetoquinol wants to provide vets with a small time out to alleviate some of the day-to-day mental strain placed on them.
This VETChat episode is part of our series on supporting and empowering women in veterinary, hosted by Kathryn Bell. Joining Kathryn today is Pam Mosedale, Quality Improvement Clinical Lead at RCVS Knowledge.