Vet Synapse Podcast by Vet Education

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What is Canine necrotising fasciitis? Canine necrotising fasciitis (NF) is an uncommon, deep-seated destructive infection of the skin, subcutaneous, and superficial fascia. Rarely, the process also can occur in the muscle, when it is termed necrotising myositis (NM). Both of these conditions can be associated with another syndrome called toxic shock syndrome (TSS). Read more.

Small Animal Fluid Therapy, Acid-Base and Electrolyte Disorders is a short text designed to highlight some of the more important aspects of fluid therapy, acid-base and electrolyte disorders, in an easy-to-read, concise format, facilitating rapid access to core information. The author, Dr Elisa Mazzaferro, is a well-respected, internationally recognised expert, and widely published author in the field of veterinary emergency and critical care. The book opens with a useful chapter on fluid compartments and total body water, and presents a concise review of the basic principles of body fluid compartments, forces of osmolality, osmosis and diffusion, and then advances to the physiological response to hypovolaemia, and fluid balance. The chapter also presents the notion of fluid therapy requirements based on energy expenditure, which is an important step in preventing excesses of fluid administration in the critically ill patient and aligns well with the most recent fluid therapy guidelines from the American Animal Hospital Association. This is followed by an excellent chapter on techniques and complications of vascular access, which is enhanced by the inclusion of numerous high-quality images and step-by-step guides to placement of peripheral venous, central venous, intra-osseous, arterial and cut-down techniques. The chapter on blood banking and transfusion medicine is likewise excellent, and provides a useful guide to blood collection, processing and administration. The book concludes with a brief description of common electrolyte disorders, and parenteral nutrition, followed by a short review of the types of shock and the "rule of twenty". Several case-studies are also presented, highlighting the various uses of fluid therapy in the critical and emergency patient. Overall, the text is very easy to read. Being a handbook, it lacks the depth of physiology and pathophysiology of more comprehensive texts. Those studying for advanced examinations would be better served by more exhaustive references. In addition, due to the age of the text, some recommendations – particularly those on colloid therapy, and monitoring (e.g. central venous pressure) have now been superseded by advances in medical knowledge and should therefore be disregarded. However, the book is not without merit – even given its age – with excellent chapters on vascular access and transfusion therapy. The inclusion of many tables, charts and flow-diagrams, along with excellent images, make this book a suitable reference for those wanting an introductory text for small animal fluid therapy.

Despite the large numbers of studies investigating both physiology and treatment of shock syndromes in both people and dogs, there is a relative paucity of studies on this topic in cats. Let's begin by describing shock in cats. The clinical syndrome of shock in cats has been characterized by 3 things... read more.

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The physical detection of peripheral pulses, and the characterization of those pulses – as strong, moderate or weak, has long been used in triage assessment protocols in both humans and animals – with the assumption that strong pulses correlate with higher blood pressure, whereas weak pulses correlate with lower blood pressure. However, in humans, study of the association between peripheral pulse and arterial blood pressure has revealed that systolic arterial pressure measurements were lower than those expected based on traditional correlations, and this has raised concerns about the reliability of pulse pressure in patient assessment. In this article, we review a veterinary study looking at the validity of this assumption. Prior to this study, there were no clinical studies evaluating the relationship of peripheral pulse to systolic arterial blood pressure in dogs – something the study under discussion aimed to rectify. Pulse quality is determined by the difference between systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, and is influenced by several factors, including: Systolic blood pressure Diastolic blood pressure Stroke volume Arterial wall compliance, and Intra-thoracic pressure This study [1] was a prospective observational study of 93 dogs that presented to an emergency service where a physical examination and a systolic arterial blood pressure evaluation were performed prior to any intervention or therapy. The results of the study were interesting, and revealed the following: Absent metatarsal pulses reliably predicted hypotension (systolic arterial blood pressure The presence of metatarsal pulses did NOT correlate with normal blood pressure measurement – meaning that a patient with palpable metatarsal pulses could still be hypotensive