How To Keep Your Specimen Carrier Happy And HealthyApril 17, 2009 What is required by the law and your carrier is probably far from what is being done daily in many practices. The best way to comply is to contact your diagnostic lab and check on its requirements. The following recommendations were provided by Vicky Bell at our lab, Animal Pathology Group in Dallas. The way diagnostic specimens should be packaged and transported was defined in a final rule by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2003. Diagnostic specimens must be packaged in triple packaging comprising: • A primary receptacle: Primary receptacles must be packed in secondary packaging in such a way that, under normal conditions of transport, they cannot break, be punctured or leak their contents into the secondary packaging. • Leak-proof secondary packaging: The secondary packaging must be secured in the outer packaging with suitable cushioning material such that any leakage of the contents will not impair the protective properties of the cushioning material or the outer packaging. If several fragile primary receptacles are placed in a single secondary packaging, they must be individually wrapped or separated to prevent contact among them. • Outer packaging: The completed package must be capable of successfully passing the drop …
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Oquendo Center Debuts at Western Veterinary ConferenceApril 17, 2009Following four years of development, the Western Veterinary Conference celebrated the grand opening of the Oquendo Center for Clinical Education during its annual conference held Feb. 15-19 in Las Vegas. The facility is dedicated to year-round hands-on training and has been constructed to meet ongoing educational needs. The mission of the center is “to provide the highest quality, clinically relevant, state-of-the-art, hands-on continuing education for veterinary medicine and other professions for the betterment of worldwide animal and public health.” The 66,000-square-foot facility offers laboratory and surgery suites, a 170-seat auditorium with surround-sound digital projection, multi-media instructional areas, small and large animal facilities, a kennel, radiology and imaging suite, a dental suite and more. It also offers educational instruction and participation with live animals, dead animals and animal models. “There’s no practice here, it’s all about education,” said Stephen Crane, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, chief medical officer and director of Oquendo Center Programs. “We’re about continuing education for graduates.” Courses are designed to focus on all organ systems across most animal species, including small animal orthopedics, food animal theriogenology and emergency care. Classes are continuously being developed and are listed online with classes scheduled throughout the year. The average …
25 Ways Staff Members Can Prevent HypothermiaApril 17, 2009Hypothermia, a body temperature below 99 degrees Fahrenheit, can lead to many harmful consequences for your warm-blooded patient under sedation or anesthesia. The condition slows metabolism. It reduces transformation of anesthetic drugs and in turn, delays recovery of the patient. "Cold" patients are more prone to infections and delayed healing.1 Ask yourself these questions next time you see an anesthetized patient in your hospital: Is the patient covered by a towel or a blanket? Is the patient on a cold X-ray table while waiting for the doctor to review radiographs? Is the patient on a cold metal grid on a wet sink? Is this patient skinny or young, i.e. with little body fat to prevent heat loss? Are you overly generous with the scrub solution and the alcohol rinse before surgery? Is the patient on a heating pad during surgery? What is the temperature of the IV fluids? When you become aware that you are pouring IV fluids at room temperature (let's say 70 degrees Fahrenheit) into a patient with a body temperature hopefully above 100 degrees, you understand this is simply not a good way to keep a patient warm. Let's review 25 of the many ways you …
How Class IV Lasers EvolvedApril 17, 2009Class IV therapeutic lasers are about 50 times more powerful than Class IIIa or IIIb lasers, which were first to enter the market, says John Godbold, DVM, of Stonehaven Park Veterinary Hospital in Jackson, Tenn., a 30-year practitioner. "The Class III can be used on the same procedures, but takes more time to perform treatments and may not reach the same tissue depth as the Class IV laser," Godbold says. The important parameters for successful laser therapy are wavelength and output power, according to experts. "Higher power lasers—Class IV, with optimal wavelength for penetration, allows for an optimal treatment dosage in a reasonable treatment time," says Brian Pryor, Ph.D., president of LiteCure, manufacturer of the Companion Therapy Laser. "A therapy laser using 5 or 6 watts of output power can perform effective treatments for companion animal disorders in 5 to 10 minutes. The Class III therapeutic laser technology can reach deeper tissue, but the length of time to reach desirable results can be prohibitive in a clinical environment. "By having a large spot size and a larger amount of power, the user doesn't have to be as anatomically precise and can treat a broader area, increasing the rate of success. …
Light Therapy On ShiloApril 17, 2009 Shilo suffers from osteoarthritis in several joints--in particular the left stifle and the right tarsus (hock). As a result, her gait is not normal, and this has caused compensatory pain her back. In this photo, Shilo is having the painful areas of her back treated with low-level laser therapy. We are delivering 4J/cm2 of energy using a Respond (TM) Class IIIb laser. The laser probe output is 500 mW with a 904 nm wavelength and we are using a pulse frequency of 585 pps (Hz). <HOME>
How To Stay Busy During Your Clinic’s RecessApril 17, 2009Children take recess from school; consumers are taking recess from spending. What will you do during your hospital’s recess? Unlike our children, we do not have the options of jump-rope or kickball; instead, we must focus on hitting home runs with our clients and playing hide-and-seek with missing charges as a few ways to stay busy during our hospitals’ recess. Practitioners, take comfort! Though five recessions have occurred since 1973, spending on veterinary care has remained constant or increased1. Despite these observations, some practitioners have felt the effects of a recession. These veterinarians report that they have noticed a decline in client growth and client purchases within their practice or heard of the same from neighboring practices. Many believe recession effects tend to spread region by region, state by state and town by town. For example, as a result of auto industry cutbacks and auto workers on strike, Michigan veterinarians report a financial decline in their practices, as many of their clients are/were auto industry employed: • For example, Chrysler alone will terminate 8,500 to 10,000 hourly workers within 2007-086. • Early-retirement and buyout packages have achieved 78 percent of that goal this year6. On the other side …
Elysse Orchard, DVM: Placing Animals As Top Professional PriorityApril 17, 2009 As the sole veterinarian at Chimp Haven in Keithville, La., Elysse Orchard, DVM, gave medical attention to more than 119 retired chimpanzees formerly used in biomedical research. Although Dr. Orchard recently took a position at Louisiana State University, she still works part-time at Chimp Haven and her accomplishments at the facility are monumental. She helped develop non-invasive techniques to assess chimpanzee health concerns while minimizing human risk, including a three-lead ECG probe to get heart rate and wave form evaluations. She even tested a blood glucose transmitter on herself before introducing it to chimps to ensure their comfort. Her career had a fairly exotic beginning. "My first veterinary job was in Liberia, West Africa, as the director of medical services for chimpanzees used in biomedical research that were retired to island habitats," Orchard says. Orchard completed her residency in primate medicine at the University of California, Davis, in 1990. "Prior to becoming a veterinarian, I was a certified veterinary technician, a laboratory animal technologist and a graduate from grooming school. After finishing a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, I realized the dream of becoming a veterinarian, with the …
Grappling With Quality Of Life And Over-treatment IssuesApril 17, 2009 I was asked to speak on some tough topics at the Human-Animal Bond Track and at the Personal/Professional Development Track Ethics Sessions during the 144th AVMA Meeting in DC. The assigned topics for me were: Maintaining Quality of Life at The End of Life during the Human-Animal Bond (HAB) Sessions and Preventing Over-treatment at a Veterinary Cancer Referral Clinic during the Ethics Sessions. Dr. Richard Timmins, President of the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians, selected the theme of Quality of Life (Q of L) for the HAB track. The Bustad Memorial Lecture was given by Dr. Richard Meadows and titled, Practical Ways to Improve Q of L in Dogs. Dr. Frank McMillan compared the scientific view with the intuitive view in his papers, What Do We Mean by Q of L?, and Research Questions Regarding Q of L. Dr. Melissa Bain discussed Behavioral Management to Promote Q of L. Dr. Marsha Heinke, CPA, spoke on Making Q of L the Focus of the Practice Team. Dr. Timmins clarified O of L for Animals in Confinement. Dr. Bernie Rollins, Ph.D. of Bioethics at CSU, organized the Ethics theme at AVMA meeting, which dealt with conflicts and ethical …
Groomed For SuccessApril 17, 2009 Ideal for surgery out of the office, the Andis Vet Pak Super AGR+ clipper kit puts together a top-performing rechargeable clipper, two batteries, a charger stand and a car charger adapter. The metallic green Super AGR+ clipper, which Andis calls “the industry's most powerful cordless rotary motor clipper,” runs continuously for one hour with a high speed of 3,800 strokes per minute. Its #40 surgical stainless steel CeramicEdge blade even cuts through wet hair. “We’ve reduced the weight of the clipper by 20 percent and the size by 10 percent but kept the same level of power as a corded clipper,” says Fred Koeller, vice president of marketing at Andis in Racine, Wis. Also new: two new powerful AGP model clippers with their own touch of style. Pick your favorite – the purple Super 2 Speed Clipper, running at 4,400 strokes per minute, or the green 2 Speed Clipper, at 3,400 strokes per minute. Both are equipped with a 4x4 blade drive, offering 25 percent more torque for faster cutting, even through mats or thick coats. For pricing information or to find a local distributor, call (800) 558-9441 or visit www.andis.com. …
Veterinarians Can Play Role In Discussions On Breed-Specific LegislationJune 24, 2008Veterinarians and other animal experts consistently agree that there is no scientific evidence to demonstrate that a specific breed of dog is more dangerous than another. Still, the American Kennel Club reports that more than 100 U.S. municipalities have enacted breed-specific legislation in the past three years. Veterinarians and veterinary associations who make their stance known in breed debates can meet staunch resistance from politicians and residents determined to take legal action after a dog attack. Lack of acknowledgement for veterinarians' expertise deters practitioners from becoming involved, say those close to the controversy. "Pet owners look to veterinarians as a resource, but when it comes to banning a breed, the veterinary opinion is trumped by inaccurate statistics and mob mentality hysteria," says Adam Goldfarb of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). "However, there are ways to be successful in denouncing claims made in favor of breed bans. HSUS, among others, provides a guide to testify against breed-specific legislation." Some tips in the HSUS guide include: Plan ahead and recruit others. Know what you'll say and plan with allies so as not to make the same points. Read materials discussing the issue. Be professional; do not make the topic …
