Common emergencies

Re: Common emergencies

natalie thompson — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:22:15 GMT

Hi hun, any chance I could have a copy of this? Im doing an emergency and critical care course at the min and would be of great help,

my address is natalie_t87@hotmail.com

Re: Common emergencies

Angiy Michael — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:20:21 GMT

Our most common ( depending on the season) are ;

ATE - Thrombus

GDV +/- torsion

Ruptured splenic mass

C Sec

De-compensating heart failure

Varying forms of dyspnoea

Heat stroke

RTA

Toxicities - Antifreeze/Pyrmethrin ( Bob Martin Disease)/Lillies/Raisins/Grapes/Ibuprofen/Chocloate tox/Warfarin are the most common

Dog fights/attacks

Seizures - various causes

Collapse due to various invasive tumours previously undiagnosed

HGE - in it's many and gloriously varied forms ..including pancreatitis triggering an episode of HGE

Hypoglycaemia - various causes but see especially frequently in toy breed dogs during first 24-48 hours in new home ..diet change etc and tiny metabolism triggers it off

Bunnies - E Cuniculi and gut statsis

Diabetic ketoacidosis

Re: Common emergencies

Angiy Michael — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:14:26 GMT

As an emergency nurse I agree with the VetsNow poster. Also in cases of poisoning or suspected poisoning most important thing is seeking prompt timely advice and whenever possible providing packaging for any toxic substances that may have been consumed in the home..so medication blister strips, chocolate packaging , rodent bait packaging etc., From a leaflet point of view admittedly there is not a lot an owner could do at home..I do not encourage owners to try and attempt emesis at home and always says attend the practice asap but providing a list of the most common top ten toxic substances for dogs and cats would very very useful for owners..lots of owner's don't realise something is poisonous to their pet..so with dogs highlighting that grapes, raisins , ibuprofen, rat bait etc are toxic and cats antifreeze and lillies etc is very very useful ..anothe rone we see a few of is dogs with human toothpaste or chewing gum due to the Xylitol XX

Re: Common emergencies

Vikki Jones — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:18:00 GMT

I work in a mixed practice so apart from large animal emergencies such as lambings, calvings milk fevers cows down we also see small animals mostly vomiting dogs, dog fights, open wounds, poisonings and dog caesarians :) xxx

Re: Common emergencies

A-J — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:14:36 GMT

i work at Vets Now too in a clinic, not referral hospital. Things we see regularly

Stick injuries

Dog fights

Blocked cats

Status epilepticus

Haemoabdomens

Dysponeic patients - varied reasons

Thromboembolisms

with all these get a full hx then adv is get to clinic, sometimes for go the full hx on phone and get them to clinic asap`111111

Re: Common emergencies

Jennifer Marshall — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 05:54:51 GMT

Hey! I'm an emergency and critical care nurse for Vets Now referrals. I would say the most common emergencies we see (apart from the ones you mentioned) are feline aortic thomboebolism (more commonly known as saddle thrombus), blocked cats, dyspnoeic patients (usually due to suspected heart failure), deyhydration due to vomiting/ diarrhoea, abdominal distension (due to heamoabdomen or GDV) and difficulty giving birth. There are oviously another thousand and one things that I see but I would say that those are the most common!

One of the most important things when assessing whether a case is an emergency or not over the phone is a history from the owner and asking the owner the correct questions for the situation. Generally if you are suspicious of an emergency, such as poisoning, there often isn't much the owner can do at home treatment wise to make the situation better. The most that you can do is question them to find out as much information as possible about the suspected toxin (what, how much and time ingested) and what clinical signs the animal is displaying. As a general rule I wouldn't advise self medication or home-made means to make an animal vomit and quite often when it comes to certain toxicities it is contraindicated to induce emesis. One thing that an owner could do in the event of permethrin toxicity in cats is to try and wash the area where the spot- on was applied, but again, time is crucial with these patients and you wouldn't want an owner struggling trying to get their cat in the bath/sink when they could be on their way to the vets.

There are of course certain circumstances where owner intervention can be a good thing in an emergency such as applying pressure to bleed, putting wet towels on a hyperthermic patient and wrapping a hypothermic patient in a blanket but these should always be stressed as short term measures and something to do on the way to the vets. If I am suspicous of an emergency it's better to be safe than sorry and if in doubt ask a collegue for their opinion. I hope this helps and feel free to ask away!

Re: Common emergencies

Ariana Gooderham — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:16:37 GMT

The most common emergency in my practice is probably blocked cats! Dont know if thats worth think about for your emergency kit...?

The emergency and critical care book from BSAVA is really good on explaining first aid for emergencies but doesnt go in to details for nursing care.

Maybe try approaching Vets Now to see if they have any crib sheets. They comonly give advice over the phone to clients with an emergency, maybe you could find some good tips or advice from them?

Hope this helps a little. Good luck!

Re: Common emergencies

Julie-Anne Wilson — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:45:15 GMT

No problem, send me your email address and I'll get it sent

Re: Common emergencies

charlieparrot — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:36:10 GMT

Julie-Anne Harrison that sounds interesting. Please could you send that leaflet to me too? :)

Re: Common emergencies

Julie-Anne Wilson — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 20:38:55 GMT

Hey, I've got a first aid leaflet I made for my work, if you want you can send me your email address in PMs and I can send it to you. You can at least look through it and get ideas.