VETgirl Veterinary Continuing Education Podcasts

In this VETgirl online veterinary CE podcast, we interview Dr. Ciara Barr. Dr. Barr is a lecturer in the anesthesia department at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review an "EPIC" study called "Effect of Pimobendan in Dogs with Preclinical Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease and Cardiomegaly: The EPIC Study – A Randomized Clinical Trial" by Boswood et al. This was a huge study that was conducted at dozens of different institutions (both academia and private practice) around the world and was undertaken by dozens of cardiologists.

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the survival time of dogs with congestive heart failure... but add a unique twist to this... the effect of revenue. This sounds strange, but keep listening.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review OPP: outpatient parvovirus treatment. Does it work?

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT and Dr. Garret Pachtinger, VMD, DACVECC review their top 10 pet peeves in veterinary medicine. Tune in to check out what peeves to avoid! Do you have any? Comment below!

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Martha Smith-Blackmore, DVM (VETgirl's internmate from the MSPCA-Angell Memorial Animal Hospital). She's an animal welfare expert and the President of Forensic Veterinary Investigations, LLC. Many in the veterinary profession may not be aware of this job opportunity, which poses a unique way of protecting animals!

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the prevalence of heartworm disease in cats in the United States and Canada. Now, you may think that heartworm disease is pretty rare, depending on where you live (or practice), but you need to know about this disease. What clinical signs are seen with it? How do you diagnose it?

We all know how difficult it can be to make a cat vomit when we actually need for them to vomit. Veterinary emergency hospitals are encouraged to stock formulations of apomorphine for inducing emesis in dogs, but sadly this medication doesn’t seem to work in cats. The theorized reason behind the feline’s lack of robust emetic response to apomorphine stems from anatomical differences in their chemoreceptor trigger zone receptors where they are believed to favor more of the alpha-2 receptors over the dopamine receptor abundance that dogs exhibit. For this reason, most hospitals carry xylazine, an alpha-2 adrenergic agonist more commonly used in large animal anesthesia. However, if you’ve ever tried to make a cat vomit using xylazine, their response is variable and many will not vomit when appropriate doses are used. Clinically, I've always felt like it only works half the time in my poisoned cat patients!

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Deborah Silverstein, Associate Professor in Critical Care at University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine on a study called Retrospective evaluation of the prevalence, risk factors, management, outcome, and necropsy findings of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome in dogs and cats: 29 cases (2011–2013). In this study, the authors evaluated dogs and cats with Acute Lung Injury (ALI) or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and assessed overall prevalence, treatment, and outcome of these critically ill patients.

professional-development-practice-managementIn this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we discuss other job opportunities available in veterinary medicine. If small animal, large animal, equine or mixed animal practice has you burnt out, know that you have opportunities in veterinary industry (e.g., pet food companies, veterinary pharmaceutic companies, etc.), teaching, consulting and even with the government. In this podcast, we interview Dr. Angela McIntyre, who works for the USDA FSIS on the front line of Food Safety.

In this VETgirl online veterinary CE podcast, we review the outcome and survival in dogs with sick sinus syndrome, a life-threatening bradyarrhythmia.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the difference between dogs and cats in the veterinary setting. As the old saying goes… ”cats are not small dogs!” The question remains, what does that really mean? They can both be small. They can both be fluffy. Catch them at the wrong time and they can both bite! But what does it mean when we say, “cats are not small dogs”? What we are referring to is the medical response to disease as we compare our feline and canine patients. Our feline patients have unique physiologic responses to shock, medications, fluid therapy, and even neoplasia as compared to the canine patient. As a result, it is crucial that the veterinary team understands these unique feline characteristics!

How do you assess your feline patients for shock at the time of triage?

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we discuss aortic thrombotic disease (what we'll call ATD from now on). We know that patients with ATD develop this due to Virchow's Triad - the combination of vascular endothelial injury, altered blood coagulability and changes in blood flow. Common underlying causes resulting in vascular endothelial injury include trauma, dirofilarial infection, hypotension, vasculitis, inflammation, acidosis, hypoxemia, dextrose fluid administration, arteriosclerosis (more in humans), and immune mechanisms. Altered blood coagulability may be due to platelet dysfunction (or hyperfunction), or any factor along the coagulation cascade or fibrinolytic system that has gone awry. Lastly, changes in blood flow may be due to blood stasis (e.g., an enlarged atrium), compressive lesions, trauma, or turbulence.

Do you use a AlphaTRAK 2 glucometer in your veterinary clinic? In the veterinary emergency room, many of us utilize the veterinary handheld point-of-care (POC) glucometers to obtain rapid glucose measurements, as it only requires a tiny volume of blood. Not all hospitals have the benefit of having expensive lab analyzers and instead rely on the POC glucometers for glucose measuring. However, it's important to note that the accuracy of these POC glucometers can be affected by various factors such as the concentration of red blood cells present in the sample (e.g., anemia, hemoconcentration) and various medications. The POC glucometer utilizes a different mechanism by which to measure blood glucose levels than our traditional lab analyzers.

Normally, our small animal veterinary patients have a very small amount of fluid within their body cavities. We can not see this radiographically, and most novice users of the ultrasound machine would also likely miss this effusion. The main goal of this fluid is to lubricate the surfaces of the organs and body walls like motor oil for your car engine. This allows the organs to glide over each other without friction, avoiding inflammation. That is in health. However, in states of disease, we see effusion develop which needs to be identified and characterized for both diagnosis and targeted treatment. So, if you see a dog or cat with abdominal effusion or pleural effusion, rapid fluid analysis is imperative!

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Tina Wismer, DABT, DABVT, Medical Director at the #1 Animal Poison Control Center, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, based out of Urbana, Illinois. Here, she shares the top 5 poisons affecting dogs and cats, including what clinical signs you may see and how to treat them. We'll also discuss some helpful hints when it comes to calling the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center - like having the patient signalment and exposure information ready, along with having the pet owner initiate the first phone call to create a case number. Dr. Wismer will also discuss the differences between cholysteramine and activated charcoal, talk about new updates in veterinary toxicology, and discuss why your veterinary clinic should be utilizing their expertise and services!

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we discuss how to write a good discharge for your pet owners. While we're often busy in general practice, emergency practice, or specialty practice, it's so important that we write clear, concise discharges for pet owners. Here, Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT and Dr. Garret Pachtinger, VMD, DACVECC review all the pertinent information you need in your discharges! Help promote better client communication and education with these simple tips.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Alicia Niedzwecki, DACVECC, on a recent study that she performed entitled Effect of oral 3% hydrogen peroxide used as an emetic on the gastroduodenal mucosa of healthy dogs. In this study, Dr. Niedzwecki performed a prospective study aimed to investigate the effects of 3% hydrogen peroxide on the gastrointestinal mucosa in healthy dogs when ingested in amounts we routinely use for emesis induction. What'd they find? Maybe we shouldn't be using hydrogen peroxide in our veterinary poisoned canine patients after all, as evidence of esophagitis, gastritis and gastric ulceration can be seen. This study supports that hydrogen peroxide is not as benign as perhaps we once thought. While the authors' take away from this study was that the use of hydrogen peroxide shouldn't be recommended for at-home use in pet owners unless the benefits outweigh the risks, the toxicologist in me is going to take a little bit of a different take on it. VETgirl will likely still use it as an emetic agent (again, only in dogs), but now I'm going to add on gastric protectants and antacids for 1-2 weeks post-administration of hydrogen peroxide.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the significance of lactate levels in hypotensive cats in the ICU. Can lactate be a prognostic factor for survival?

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Jenna Gettings, DVM MPH, who is a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) on her recent paper A Bayesian spatio-temporal model for forecasting the prevalence of antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi, causative agent of Lyme disease, in domestic dogs within the contiguous United States. While this is mouthful, find out what you need to know about the Lyme prevalence data and the practical implications that this may have for veterinarians. Based off some pretty complex stats and math, this paper forecasts that Lyme disease is expanding geographically. More importantly, why do we care as health care professionals, and does this affect our treatment as veterinarians? Tune in to learn more!

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the importance of anemia or hemoconcentration on blood glucose measurements when using point-of-care (POC) gluometers in our veterinary patients.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT and Dr. Garret Pachtinger, VMD, DACVECC, discuss some helpful tips and tricks on how to survive your veterinary internship and veterinary residency. While you have to work hard during this upcoming year (or next two to three years), there are some easy tips to survive this learning period! You can do it! Any hints that you guys have? Share below!

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the chronic use of maropitant in veterinary medicine based on the most recent, cutting edge veterinary studies that have been done. In this podcast, we interview Dr. Jessica Quimby, DVM, PhD, DACVIM and Dr. Craig Clifford, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology) on their chronic use of maropitant in cats with chronic renal failure (CRF) and oncology patients, respectively. Can you use maropitant long-term without any problems?Sponsored By: Zoetis

In today' VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Mary Gardner, CoFounder of Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice. She discusses quality of life in veterinary medicine, along with the decision to euthanize versus when to consider hospice care.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we discuss whether or not we should be using 3% hydrogen peroxide (H202) as an emetic agent in dogs. With most of our pets’ toxin ingestions occurring outside the veterinary hospital, we, as veterinary professionals, must use our best judgment when making recommendations to pet owners regarding how best to help their pet. If the pet has ingested a toxic substance or an overdose of medication, and you know the best course of action is to prevent further absorption by way of emesis, what do you recommend to the client? Does your hospital induce emesis with apomorphine or with hydrogen peroxide? Do you sometimes recommend to clients to induce emesis at home? Or do you just direct them to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center instead?

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT, CEO of VETgirl, discusses her personal struggle with infertility and why you need to stop your veterinary career to have kids now...

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Travis Hornsby, Founder of Student Loan Planner, LLC. He's a student loan consultant and is here to discuss the veterinary student debt issue. With so many veterinary students having six figures of student debt, how does one find help to come up with a repayment strategy? You can also check out his blog here on veterinary student debt HERE.

In today' VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Dani McVety, CoFounder of Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice. How did she get involved with hospice, and what is the role of it in veterinary medicine? Learn more about how this can preserve the human-animal bond with your patients.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. George Moore, DVM, PhD, on the newest updates with canine leptospirosis. Is lepto seen in our roaming, rural large farm dogs, or is it now seen in 15 pound, urban city dogs? How should we diagnose leptospirosis? A MAT? PCR? ELISA? Find out all you need to know about this growing, zoonotic canine disease!

Today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast is sponsored by PRN, makers of KBroVet, potassium bromide. In this podcast, Dr. Simon Platt, BVM&S, MRCVS, DACVIM (Neurology), DECVN, neurologist from University of Georgia, reviews the different types of anticonvulsants available in veterinary medicine. Which should you pick? What are the pros and cons? When should we add an additional anticonvulsant?

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Jessica Trichel about some of misconceptions of going from veterinary associate to small business veterinary practice owner! What are some myths that need to be debunked when it comes to veterinary practice ownership?

Do you give a lot of blood transfusions in your veterinary clinic? Ever wonder if your protocol for blood transfusion administration is correct? In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review whether or not the size of the syringe and blood filter affect survival of RBCs in cats. BTW, check out some of our transfusion videos here and here.

Are you doing Schirmer tear tests to test for the prevalence of dry eye (KCS) in your veterinary ICU?

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, Dr. Garret Pachtinger, DACVECC discusses common concerns following house fire trauma and smoke inhalation in veterinary medicine. How do we treat carbon monoxide toxicosis, cyanide toxicosis, and the respiratory distress seen in these smoke inhalation patients?

Have you treated cases of postoperative pneumonia or aspiration pneumonia in your practice? Have you wondered what factors might predispose your canine patients to developing postoperative respiratory complications? In people, there are a number of risk factors for aspiration pneumonia in the peri- and postoperative period that include: increased age, co-morbidities, preexisting pulmonary disease, immobility, decreased consciousness, analgesia and gastrointestinal problems like motility disorders, increased gastric acid, esophageal disease, among others.

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, Dr. Garret Pachtinger, DACVECC review's the DO's and DONT's of dextrose.

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Jessica Trichel about the top 4 things to consider before taking the plunge into practice ownership. While this is a huge step, this is a great way of being able to help pay off your veterinary school debt by being a veterinary practice owner! Are you passionate? Do you want to be a leader in your practice? Do you like mentoring and training people? If so, it may be time to consider before buying a veterinary clinic.

In today's VETgirl veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Jane Quandt, DACVAA, MS, DACVECC, Professor at University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine on the use of arterial catheters (commonly called "A-lines") in veterinary medicine. While arterial catheters are typically only used in academia or veterinary specialty clinics, it's still important to know the pros and cons of using them. These are considered the gold standard for measuring blood pressure, as they are the most accurate. But what are the potential pros and cons of using them? Also, when do we start to worry about hypotension under anesthesia. Get some great anesthesia tips from Dr. Quandt!

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT and Dr. Garret Pachtinger, DACVECC review their top 5 pet peeves to avoid in the veterinary emergency room. Whether or not you're a rookie or experienced emergency veterinarian, or about to switch from general practice to emergency medicine, these are mistakes you want to avoid!

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Kacie Blessing, DACVD, of the Animal Dermatology Clinics on food allergies in veterinary medicine. What type of diet should we use, and for how long? When's the best season or timing to test a dog? How do we differentiate atopy from food allergies? Get your dermatology on with this VETgirl podcast!

If you've practiced where VETgirl has, you'd hate Lyme disease as much as we do. Having practiced in all the tick-infested states (e.g., NJ, NY, MA, MN, PA, etc.), I've seen a lot of Lyme disease. That said, only a small subset of Lyme positive dogs (1-2%) go onto develop severe, life-threatening complications from Lyme disease - the dreaded Lyme nephritis. So, in today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we'll discuss this rare complication: Lyme nephritis.

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Missy Carpentier-Anderson, DACVIM (Neurology) from Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota. In this veterinary podcast, she reviews everything you need to know about veterinary neurology including localization of disease, intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) in dogs, and the use of anticonvulsants in dogs with epilepsy. Learn more in this VETgirl online CE podcast!

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Siobhan Haney, VMD, MS, DACVR (RO), a radiation oncologist from Hope Veterinary Specialists on radiation therapy. What types of neoplasia respond the best to radiation therapy (RT). Should we use traditional RT or consider Cyberknife or stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) in veterinary medicine? This may be a new option for osteosarcoma, brain tumors, etc. Learn more in this VETgirl online CE podcast!

I was recently asked to assist a veterinarian transition from general practice to emergency medicine. Now, if you've never been exposed to the emergency medicine side of veterinary medicine, it's a whole different world. That said, it's a great opportunity to practice in an exciting way! So, here, some helpful hints to reduce your anxiety of transitioning to emergency medicine. These are tips from the emergency trenches!

In this VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast sponsored by Aventix, Dr. Shelby Reinstein discusses Feline Herpes Virus (FHV). FHV is a very common cause of upper respiratory tract disease in cats, and is THE MOST common cause of surface ocular disease. Kittens which suffer from the initial viral exposure are often quite sick with both upper respiratory infections (URI) and ocular signs. These kittens can have significant fever, decreased appetites, and secondary bacterial infections may ensue. Adult cats, however, usually have a more mild form of the disease, as the virus is reactivating from its dormant state. Given the wide variety of clinical syndromes attributable to FHV, it can be challenging to know exactly WHO to treat, and with what. In this VETgirl podcast, Dr. Shelby Reinstein reviews examination findings, as well as drug therapies for the treatment of FHV including antibiotic therapy, lysine, and even famciclovir!

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we discuss paradoxical breathing in our canine and feline patients. As we all know, pleural space diseases like pleural effusion, pneumothorax and diaphragmatic hernias can sometimes be difficult to diagnose. You might not always hear obvious muffled heart or breath sounds, and often our veterinary patients aren’t stable enough for radiographs right away. In one study of dogs with pleural effusion, almost 1/3 died during initial examination and diagnostics!1 Remember, we always want to rapidly identify and stabilize our dyspneic patients to maximize survival and patient comfort!

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review the use of maropitant in veterinary medicine based on the most recent, cutting edge veterinary studies that have been done. In this podcast, we interview Dr. Bonnie Hay Kraus, DVM, DACVS, DACVAA on her recent studies evaluating dosing, route of administration and use in veterinary patients. How does this apply to you? Should you use it routinely pre-operatively? Will it prevent aspiration pneumonia or nausea? Tune in and find out more about this anti-emetic!Sponsored By: Zoetis

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we interview Dr. Lisa Radosta, DACVB, who is a board-certified veterinary behaviorist at Florida Veterinary Behavior Services on the top mistakes that veterinarians make with veterinary behavioral disorders. Find out what mistakes you need to avoid, what medications you should be reaching for more, and how to appropriate communicate to your pet owners about behavioral problems!

In general, human and veterinary patients are administered FFP for two major reasons: either to stop active bleeding, or to prevent it. Interestingly, the use of FPP in human medicine continues to grow, and a large proportion of patients receive it for prolonged clotting times alone, even though they don’t have evidence of clinical bleeding or a perceived risk of clinical bleeding.1,2 These critically ill patients are of particular interest in both human and veterinary medicine, since little evidence exists to support giving them FFP, yet many of us continue to do it. Not only is FFP transfusion costly, it is also associated with risks, including reactions that can range from mild to life-threatening, transfusion-associated cardiac overload (TACO), and transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI). Because of these reasons, it is important to understand when we should – and when we shouldn’t – administer FFP to our patients.