Blood gases and Acid/base interpretation is increasingly being used in not only large veterinary hospitals, but general practice on a day to day basis. The opportunity to have these results so quickly is good news for our patients in the emergency and critical care setting especially. As Veterinary Nurses, we are normally taking the samples from these patients and running the gases for the Vets. In this webinar, we will discuss the best ways of obtaining and handling these samples, step by step guide on interpreting the acid/base status and other important parameters to be aware of; so that you feel more confident to alert the clinicians when problems start to occur.

Primary uterine inertia is the most common cause of dystocia in dogs and when combined with the highly variable pregnancy length (58 to 72 days from mating to whelping) causes significant confusion in managing ‘the overdue bitch’. Appreciating the normal reproductive biology including when and how diagnostic tests should be applied improves clinical decision-making and facilitates improved outcome in cases of potential dystocia.

Acute abdomen is a collective term for a number of conditions that are presented with clinical signs of mild to marked abdominal discomfort, abdominal distension, generalised gastrointestinal signs and/or shock. Some of these may necessitate an immediate surgical correction, however, in others one is better off with an appropriate conservative treatment or postponed surgical intervention. Generally, one or more organs or systems can be involved in the etiology of acute abdomen and the list of differentials is rather long. Due to plethora of possible causes management of cases with acute abdomen is often very challenging. Proper history, physical examination, collection of free abdominal fluid, ultrasonography and radiology are minimal diagnostic setup for such cases. This webinar should give you an insight into the decision-making process in acute abdomen cases from the perspective of a veterinary surgeon.