Shailen Jasani - Saunders Solutions in Veterinary Practice: Small Animal Emergency Medicine

Saunders Solutions in Veterinary Practice

Small Animal Emergency Medicine

Shailen Jasani, VetMB MA MRCVS (ACVECC Diploma eligible)

Saunders

Front Matter

Copyright

2011, Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved.

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First published 2011

ISBN: 978-0-7020-2984-4

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

Notice

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

With respect to any drug or pharmaceutical products identified, readers are advised to check the most current information provided (i) on procedures featured or (ii) by the manufacturer of each product to be administered, to verify the recommended dose or formula, the method and duration of administration, and contraindications. It is the responsibility of practitioners, relying on their own experience and knowledge of their patients, to make diagnoses, to determine dosages and the best treatment for each individual patient, and to take all appropriate safety precautions.

To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

The Publisher

Printed in China

Introduction

Saunders Solutions in Veterinary Practice series is a new range of veterinary textbooks that will grow into a mini library over the next few years, covering all the main disciplines of companion animal practice.

Readers should realise that it is not the authors intention to cover all that is known about each topic. As such the books in the Saunders Solutions series are not standard reference works. Instead they are intended to provide practical information on the more frequently encountered conditions in an easily accessible form based on real-life case studies. They cover that range of cases that falls between the boringly routine and the referral. The books will help practitioners with a particular interest in a topic or those preparing for a specialist qualification. The cases are arranged by presenting sign rather than by the underlying pathology as this is how veterinary surgeons will see them in practice.

Each case also includes descriptions of underlying pathology and details of the nursing required both in the veterinary clinic and at home. It is hoped that the books will also, therefore, be of interest to veterinary students in the later parts of their course and to veterinary nurses.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is mandatory for many veterinarians and a recommended practice for others. The Saunders Solutions series will provide a CPD resource that can be accessed economically, shared with colleagues and used anywhere. They will also provide busy veterinary practitioners with quick access to authoritative information on the diagnosis and treatment of interesting and challenging cases. The robust cover has been made resistant to some of the more gruesome contaminants found in a veterinary clinic because this is where we hope these books will be used.

Joyce Rodenhuis, Mary Seager and subsequently Robert Edwards were the inspiration for the series and both the series editor and the individual authors are grateful for their foresight in commissioning the series and their unfailing support and guidance during their production.

Preface

In essence, whether or not an animal presents as an emergency is ultimately at the discretion of its owner. A significant proportion of dogs and cats seen as emergencies are afflicted by some of the same non urgent disorders that are seen during routine practice; the urgency stems more from the owners concern than the patients clinical status. However, there are also a significant number of dogs and cats presented for veterinary attention that are legitimately considered to be emergencies. These animals present with a diverse variety of abnormalities, some of which are imminently life-threatening, while others are associated with variable levels of pain or other morbidity. Some of the challenges, and appeals, of emergency medicine are the need to have a wide breath of knowledge and expertise covering all body systems, to know how to prioritize individual patients and specific problems within a single patient, and to be prepared to see and embrace the unknown and sometimes unexplainable!