Vetgirl Veterinary Continuing Education Podcasts

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Annette Litster, BVSc, MACVSc Senior Veterinary Specialist at Zoetis, on Canine Influenza (CIV) H3N2 and H3N8. Learn what clinical signs are seen with CIV, and how to diagnose it (e.g., serology vs. PCR). Learn if your canine patient population should be vaccinated for it, and if this vaccine is for just "social dogs." This VETgirl is brought to you, thanks to sponsorship from Zoetis, makers of Vanguard CIV H3N2/H3N8 bivalent vaccine.Sponsored By: Zoetis

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the prevalence of subclinical bacteriuria, bacterial cystitis and pyelonephritis in dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Erica Behling-Kelly, DVM, PhD, DACVP from Cornell University, on her recent publication entitled "A commercial soy‐based phospholipid emulsion accelerates clot formation in normal canine whole blood and induces hemolysis in whole blood from normal and dogs with inflammatory leukograms." Does the use of lipid in the form of total parenteral nutrition (TPN), partial parenteral nutrition (PPN), or intravenous lipid emulsion (20%) potentially cause detrimental adverse effects in dogs - particularly those with inflammation - when used? Check out this VETgirl podcast to learn more!

Ah, the mucocele. The disease that internists want to surgical treat, and the ones that surgeons want to medically manage.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review thoracic trauma in dogs. In the emergency room, we criticalists frequently see patients that have sustained both blunt and penetrating thoracic trauma from a variety of causes, with the most common being vehicular trauma and bite wounds. Thankfully, the prognosis for trauma is generally fair to good, with a reported 90% survival (Hall). However, in patients requiring thoracic surgery, the prognosis is worse. Previous studies have shown a range of short-term mortality rates ranging from 10-44%.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review uroabdomen in dogs. We've also talked about how to diagnose uroabdomen in a previous VETgirl blog here.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Julien Guillaumin, DACVECC, DECVECC, on his recent study entitled "Influence of hang time and location on bacterial contamination of intravenous bags in a veterinary emergency and critical care setting." We all hang bags of fluids around the veterinary clinic and ER/ICU so we can use it as a flush or to dilute drugs. However, should we be doing this? In this study, the authors wanted to evaluate the risk and rate of bacterial contamination of fluid and ports in intravenous bags. Overall, the authors looked at 90 bags of LRS, punctured them daily 3X/day for 10 days. They found bacterial growth in 31.1% of the 198 injection ports overall, and 6.7% of the fluid bags hung in ER were contaminated by Day 7. Listen to find out just how long you should be hanging that bag of fluids, and why hanging it near the veterinary sink isn't ideal!

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the characteristics and risk factors for intervertebral disk extrusions (IVDE) in Pekingese dogs. If you're about to see a Pekingese dog with back pain, check out this VETgirl podcast to learn what you need to know about in this breed of dog.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the use of ultrasound for the diagnosis of cardiogenic pulmonary edema in dogs and cats. Nowadays, we're doing more and more FAST (Focused Assessment of Sonography in Trauma) ultrasounds in the ER setting, and it's great (and easy) for diagnosing cavital effusion (e.g., hemoabdomen, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, etc.). But can it be easily used for lung ultrasound (LUS) to detect pathology (or water) in the lung? Does it work to diagnose cardiogenic pulmonary edema?

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the prevalence of thrombocytopenia in cats. Before you blame it "platelet clumping," let's make sure it's not from something else!

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the use of tramadol in dogs. Does it work? Well, you may have heard over recent years that tramadol has been put on the hot plate, receiving much attention for its role as an analgesic in canine patients. The reason for doubting tramadol’s pain relief properties stems from the pharmacokinetics of the drug and differences between human and canine pain receptors. Tramadol is a weak pure-mu opioid agonist. It is metabolized to O-desmethytramadol, which is the metabolite responsible for tramadol’s ability to inhibit the reuptake of noradrenaline and serotonin in nerve endings, thus making these two neurohormones more available to continue blocking pain signals. However, dogs produce very little of this active metabolite. Perhaps this difference in metabolism is why clinicians have trended towards recommending higher doses of tramadol (doses ranging from 1 to 10 mg/kg). Previous studies have been complicated by a placebo effect when measurin

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Leah Cohn, PhD, DACVIM, on the approach to the infectious coughing dog. In this podcast, she reviews what Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease (CIRD) is, what the diagnostic work up is, and how to treat these patients. She'll also review what vaccines are available for the different etiologies, and how it's more than "just kennel cough." Check out this important Guideline and Recommendation from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine here:

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we discuss whether certain breeds are more predisposed to aspiration pneumonia or not.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review short-term and long-term outcomes for overweight dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture - do they all need surgery?

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review whether or not brief echocardiographic training is beneficial for noncardiology veterinarians. Will it help house officers or general practitioners in the ability to diagnose cardiac emergencies like pericardial effusion, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy and more?

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we discuss whether you detect pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade on chest radiographs in veterinary medicine.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we discuss anemia in veterinary patients. Anemia is a common, yet frustrating disease process and is defined as a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin (Hb). Anemia can be categorized as regenerative or non-regenerative, and it is important to obtain a thorough history and a careful and systematic diagnostic approach to anemia. In this podcast, we review the 3 major causes of anemia:

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, Dr. Garret Pachtinger, board certified emergency and critical care specialist and co-founder of VETgirl, reviews the diagnostic approach to hypoalbuminemia in dogs and cats. Hypoalbuminemia is a common problem seen by the small animal veterinarian. It is important to understand that albumin is the major determinant of oncotic pressure (i.e., otherwise known as colloidal osmotic pressure or "COP"). This pressure is the main force that holds fluid within the vascular space.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review whether or not you can thaw your unit of Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFP) in the microwave versus in the more traditional warm-water bath.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, VETgirl Co-Founder Dr. Garret Pachtinger, DACVECC reviews part 2 of treatment of the endocrine emergency in dogs and cats: hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS). In the previous VETgirl podcast on HHS, we reviewed the subtle differences of patients with HHS as compared to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), HHS criteria, and common clinical signs.