Keeping Sane in Lockdown

As for many of us, the lockdown has been challenging, especially for those who are on furlough leave like myself and miss doing their job. It is a worrying time for everyone and at the beginning of lockdown, I felt extremely anxious and worried every day that it started to affect my mental health. In this article, I wanted to talk about ways that I have overcome some anxiety and how I have kept sane during lockdown.

The Computer Will See You Now

A new app which aims to help pet owners assess their pets’ symptoms is causing controversy in the veterinary community. The app, named Joii, is developed by a Leeds-based company called Vet-AI, which received £1 million in funding to build it, and is set to be released in April. The idea behind Joii is this: when your pet looks a tad unwell, you consult the app by entering their symptoms, which uses AI algorithms to assess what might be assailing them, giving you advice on what to do next.

Chronic Pain in the Geriatric Dog: Decision Making and Risk Management Q&A 2

Q: Do you use cartrophen (pentosan phosphate) and how would you combine it with NSAID (egg given on alternative days) Because of the clinical case load that I am involved with I do not have much direct experience with the use of pentosan polysulphate. A review of the safety of Cartrophen Vet in the dog was published in the JSAP in 2003 – and Cartrophen was reported to be very safe – with relatively few adverse effects associated with use (data based on reporting of adverse reactions via pharmacovigilance data).

Conn’s Syndrome: An Emerging Endocrinopathy

Conn’s Syndrome is one of those diseases  I knew existed but understood little else about purely due to my assumption that this was a condition rarely encountered in general practice. That was until recently where more discussion has centred around Conn’s syndrome especially in the feline world and it is believed that, given this is a condition which mimics other feline diseases such as chronic kidney failure, it is likely to be more commonly encountered than had been originally assumed.

Compare The Meerkat: Exotic Mammal Pets in Practice

The well-known marketing campaign ‘compare the meerkat.com’ has a lot to answer for when it comes to the frivolous purchase of single meerkats by the general public. After all they look very cute as youngsters and are a tempting gift for the demanding child whose birthday is looming. However, as most people involved in the veterinary profession are aware, cute little bundles can turn into difficult and antisocial creatures if reared in the wrong environment.

Common Wildlife Conditions: Part Two

RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Hospital’s Veterinary Officer, Bev Panto, returned last week to deliver part two of her webinar discussing common wildlife conditions. In her usual enthusiastic style, Bev offered advice on treating wild mammals as a follow up to ‘part one’ held last autumn, and covered the management of common conditions in wild birds.

Chronic Pain In The Geriatric Dog: Decision Making and Risk Management, Questions and Answers

At the end of the webinar I was asked a question about NSAIDs and administration with food. I made the point that it was important to follow the recommendations on feeding because it could significantly affect bioavailability. I mistakenly said that feeding did not significantly affect the bioavailability of mavacoxib (Trocoxil), in fact it is recommended to give Trocoxil with food otherwise bioavailability is significantly reduced. I apologise for this error in the talk.

Chiari Type Malformation and Syringomyelia

Neurology is not my favourite area of medicine and when listening to mind-blowingly clever people discussing this topic I’m always worried it will go completely over my head, or even worse my mind may start to wander. This was most definitely not the case with last week’s webinar covering ‘Chiari’ Type Malformation and Syringomyelia (CMSM) led by Dr Clare Rusbridge.

Chemotherapy Safety In Practice

Gone are the days when chemotherapy meant slipping on a pair of latex gloves and administering intravenous vincristine (and I have seen this done off the needle all be it many years ago). Fortunately times have moved on and the safety of all involved with chemotherapy patients has to be of paramount importance. Iain Grant led last week’s webinar advising how to provide the safest possible environment for our staff and pet owners when performing chemotherapy.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in Dogs and Cats

Despite CPR not being a procedure we perform very frequently, it was only a few weeks ago that myself and a team of dedicated vets and nurses performed CPR on an already sick dog. We managed to successfully resuscitate this patient but sadly went on to lose him several hours later. Last week’s webinar presented by Fiona Strachan BVMS CertVA MRCVS stated this was always going to be the most likely outcome in any patient which is not anaesthetised and undergoes cardiopulmonary arrest and CPR.

Canine Elbow Dysplasia

As a last minute stand in, Ben Walton did a great job presenting an in-depth veterinary webinar organised by The Webinar Vet discussing elbow dysplasia in the dog. Indeed to present the amount of information at the level delivered was quite a feat especially within the space of an hour and at such short notice.

Cancers of the Head & Neck

Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biological cancers which originate in the lip, oral cavity, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, pharynx and larynx. Unfortunately, in man, 90% of head and neck cancers are aggressive squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Dogs and cats, however, have a much greater variety of cancers affecting the head and neck, but many can still be aggressive and very difficult to treat.