Clinical Article Club Discussions - Recent Threads

RE: Pain Management For Veterinary Nurses

chrysanthemum20 — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 02:48:49 GMT

Really interesting, nice to see mention of laser, anecdotally we had really positive results in using for post op orthopaedic surgery and chronic arthritis/non-operable cruciate issues as well as some exotics.

Would be nice to see some studies in its efficacy or use in practice, has anyone else seen positive results from laser?

Pain Management For Veterinary Nurses

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 13:54:49 GMT

For this week's Clinical Article Club, Shelly Jefferies is back to answer your questions and discuss her article about pain management in companion animals.

First read her article here: PAIN MANAGEMENT FOR VETERINARY NURSES

Then come and post your questions and discussion points here, by replying to this thread.

NB TO POST IN THIS THREAD, YOU MUST FIRST JOIN THIS GROUP: https://www.vetnurse.co.uk/001/vetnurse-clinical-article-club

I also strongly recommend you subscribe to the daily or weekly digest in that group so you get a daily or weekly alert if there is new content specifically in the Clinical Article Club.

.... and I'll give £50 cash to the person who posts the question or discussion point which prompts the most discussion by the end of the week.

Who'll start me off??!

RE: Pain Management For Veterinary Nurses

shelly jefferies — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 17:56:19 GMT

Hi Ali

Thanks for the feedback and the great question. As far as I’m aware there is no contradiction for use with metal implants like pins and plates as long as not directly placed over the implant. However magnetic therapies should not be used in a patient with a pacemaker as they are contraindicated.

RE: Pain Management For Veterinary Nurses

AliTee — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 17:01:02 GMT

With regards to adjunctive treatment with magnets, are there any contraindications such as pacemakers or metal implants?

Thank you for a very interesting and easily digestible article on alternative pain therapies. I have shared it with my nursing colleagues, as it is a great reminder for qualified nurses and an excellent explanation of alternative therapies for student nurses.

RE: Pain Management in the Avian Patient

Adam Gregory — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 08:42:46 GMT

Hi Clare,

Good resources include; anaesthesia and analgesia in birds part 1 and 2 and analgesia in birds Joanne paul-murphy.

With regards to NSAID and opioid we absolutely do use both and through pain assessment reduce the opioid before reviewing the nsaids

Pain Management in the Avian Patient

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 09:56:07 GMT

For our second Clinical Article Club discussion, we've got Adam Gregory RVN NCert (Anaesth) DMZAA DipVNZS APVN, Head Nurse at Great Western Exotics, here to answer your questions and discuss his article about Pain Management in the Avian Patient.

Here is a link to Adam's article: https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/pain-management-in-the-avian-patient

Being HN at a leading referral centre, you can imagine Adam is a busy guy, so we're very lucky to have him joining us, but do bear in mind that he may not be able to reply immediately.

Nevertheless, he's looking forward to your questions, so fire away!

NB to post in this Clinical Article Club discussion YOU MUST FIRST JOIN THIS GROUP: https://www.vetnurse.co.uk/001/vetnurse-clinical-article-club

I also strongly recommend you subscribe to the daily or weekly digest in that group so you get a daily or weekly alert if there is new content specifically in the Clinical Article Club.

RE: Pain Management in the Avian Patient

clare hawse — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 07:39:33 GMT

Hello Adam, I am interested in the studies of buprenorphine in raptors if you could point me to them please?

And do you ever use a combination of NSAID and opioid in avian patients?

Thanks! Clare Hawse

RE: Pain Management in the Avian Patient

Adam Gregory — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 07:29:57 GMT

Hi Alastair, thanks for the message.

As with most medications, the doses have a range and my advice would be that if there is doubt with the healt of a bird, then start with the lower dose and assess routinely to determine if it's appropriate. If not then at least eeith a lower dose then you can increase it as needed within the range.

RE: Pain Management in the Avian Patient

Arlo Guthrie — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 13:36:13 GMT

Hello everyone. It would be lovely if one of you, our founder members, had a question on avian pain management for Adam. Anyone?

April Hasselmann, Nikki Armstrong, Alison Clare Hickman, Emily Bennett, Jennifer Rowland, CoatiBlues, Lucy Deckker, Louise Royle RVN CertCFVHNut, Gemma Crooke , Jasmine Kelly, Lisa Appadurai, Liz Chesman, pingi, Sonia Evers, Nessa Harbottle, Kerry Roberts, Olivia Coulton, Victoria Armstrong, Queeny Yuen, Stephanie Langford, UlaGreyWolf, Alley Brereton, diana wilson, Melanie Denham, Michelle Palmer, Yasser Kalta, Leigh123, Laura Hughes, sarah Hall

RE: Pain Management in the Avian Patient

Alasdair Hotston Moore — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 12:17:41 GMT

thanks for taking part Adam. I've a question: the does you mention are very general. Any thoughts on how much allowance we should make for the enormous diversity in body size/BSA?

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

shelly jefferies — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 09:34:36 GMT

Yes this is a great thing to do. We do the same and we just tend to cut a kennel liner to fit the bottom before popping some litter on the top.

Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 10:22:32 GMT

Welcome to our first VetNurse Clinical Article Club discussion for 2023!

To anyone new to this, the idea is that every two weeks, we pick an article in Veterinary Practice and invite the author to join us here, so that you can ask any questions you may have, and discuss the subject with one another.

Each discussion will run for a week.

As a bonus, you can claim time spend reading or participating in the discussion towards your annual CPD requirement!

This week's article is Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic, and I am delighted to welcome the author, [mention:41cbfc5a10dd4b36b0960bb52e3850f2:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05], a veterinary nurse with over 20 years experience and founder of svn2rvn, to join the discussion.

First you need to read Shelly's article here: https://www.veterinary-practice.com/article/becoming-a-cat-friendly-clinic

Then come back and post any questions you have for her about creating a cat-friendly clinic.

And if you already run a cat-friendly clinic, share what you do to make things cat-friendly!

Our aim is for this discussion to be a useful reference for anyone trying to create a cat-friendly clinic in the future, so the more questions you ask and experiences you share, the better.

Fire away!

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

UlaGreyWolf — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 14:19:05 GMT

We keep the cardboard trays from royal canin tins as throwaway litter trays for the very elderly, or tiny kitten patients. They have super shallow edges so that the cats can get into them easily

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

pingi — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 11:31:29 GMT

Thanks Shelly. The liver is a new one so thanks x

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

shelly jefferies — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 13:40:46 GMT

Thanks. So our litter trays are from NVS which we order large trays which are longer not just deeper. You can also buy long/large litter trays on Amazon. With regards further reading I would recomme becoming a member of ISFM nurse membership is free, they do loads of great resources both educational for you and they also do some really great owner handouts as well. I also like both the bsava f ine practice manual and also the bsava feline behaviour manual. Hope that helps

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

Louise Royle RVN CertCFVHNut — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 13:30:46 GMT

Hi Shelley. Thanks for the article advice, easy to read and definitely easy to implement in practice. I have two questions. The first is regarding litter tray size, you mentioned the try needs to be longer than the cat body, do u have a resource for purchasing these? We have various depth trays available but none as long as described. Second question what cat friendly resources would you recommend for further reading?

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

Alison Clare Hickman — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 12:36:45 GMT

Music therapy - love this. I was in a practice that used Radio 4 in the kennels as it was just smoooth talking without any clashy noises. Same difference? Or do you think it's better to use actual music? I know that farmers use music in their milking sheds to increase yield! Have there been any studies you can link me to? (cats not cows obviously, lol).

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

shelly jefferies — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 12:22:32 GMT

Hi Caroline, defo have a bowl amnesty can always donate to local rescue centre rather than throw away. Favourite bits to tempt eating….I use sardines in tomato sauce, I find licki lix are often a winner, plus I like to keep some cooked liver in the freezer cut into tiny pieces this when warmed up often works a treat. Oh and of course dreamies!!!

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

pingi — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 11:37:44 GMT

Great article. We have a variety of bowls in our cat ward but I think I’ll have a clear out and just keep the ceramic ones.
We get a lot of anorexic cats in the hospital, can you advise any foods to tempt them to eat ?I use mackerel tinned but we recently had a cat in with an allergy to fish and she had no interest in chicken.

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

Arlo Guthrie — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 10:00:17 GMT

Alison Clare Hickman Thanks for getting the ball rolling .

Now, Sonia Evers, Lisa Appadurai, pingi, Nessa Harbottle, Liz Chesman, Lucy Deckker, Louise Royle RVN CertCFVHNut, Olivia Coulton, Kerry Roberts, Jennifer Rowland, Jasmine Kelly Gemma Crooke , Emily Bennett, CoatiBlues ...

A very warm welcome to you too! Have you read Shelly's article yet? And do you have any questions or things to discuss about making practices cat-friendly?

I wonder if it would help if I offered £50 for the best question or discussion topic raised this week?!

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

Alison Clare Hickman — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 15:44:06 GMT

shelly jefferies thanks, this info really helps. I thought about compost but wasn't sure, so will go check out my local garden centre.

The digging up the garden part makes sense although (as a locum) I've worked in practices where there's no trusted green/garden anywhere... Can't really see me asking a client to bring in soil but you never know...when u have a reluctant or stressed patient you'll try any trick!

Thinking I will carry a small bag of compost with me in my car as yet another useful tool in my repertoire!

More please!

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

shelly jefferies — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 15:06:12 GMT

Hi Alison,

Thanks for the question we tend to do one if two things…a small bag of compost from the garden centre (making sure) it’s not got feed or additives in, if we’ve run out of that we go and dig a bit fron the edge of the flower bed!! I know from personal experience when my cat was sick he wouldn’t use litter even though he was litter trained when younger, but as soon as we put some soil in he relieved himself immediately!!!

RE: Becoming a Cat-friendly Clinic

Alison Clare Hickman — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 13:52:36 GMT

Hi! Thanks so much for this resource Arlo Guthrie and to shelly jefferies for the article.

You've recommended soil as a litter tray substrate for those kennelled patients used to toileting outside.

What kind of soil would you use?

Ta!

A warm welcome!

Arlo Guthrie — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 16:30:58 GMT

Welcome to the VetNurse Clinical Article Club!

This is a reading club, where once every two weeks we will be joined by the author of an article, usually clinical, published in Veterinary Practice.

You'll then have the chance to ask them any questions you have, and to discuss the implications of the article for your life in practice with each other.

Discussions count towards your annual CPD requirement, just click the 'Claim CPD' button top right.

Only one rule in the club, which is to be polite. We want this to be a really useful resource for you all, and for everyone to feel able to ask whatever they want, without fear of ridicule. There is no such thing as a stupid question.

I'll publish a list of the forthcoming articles up for discussion shortly, meantime if you have any questions about the club itself, do post them here.