The ninth edition of this text follows in the tradition of the previous eight. It has been updated to reflect changes and advances seen in emergency and critical care medicine. Several sections apply to both the clinician and the veterinary technician. The text is divided into six sections including emergency care, patient evaluation and organ system examination clinical signs, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, laboratory diagnosis and test protocols, and charts and tables.
The first section focuses on emergency care. It covers initial assessment and management, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the assessment and management of pain in the emergency patient. It then goes into more detail on specific disorders including, acute abdomen, shock, reproductive emergencies, and toxins. The second section covers evaluation of the patient with details on each organ system. It provides an in-depth discussion on how to perform the exam, what to look for, and what abnormal findings may indicate. The third section flows into a discussion on the most common clinical signs seen in an emergency patient. Each clinical sign is defined and then differential diagnosis, diagnostic plans, and associated signs are discussed.
Veterinary technicians will appreciate section four as it goes into routine and advanced diagnostic procedures. This section covers the most common procedures performed in an emergency or critical care setting. Routine procedures such as bandaging and blood pressure measurement as well as more advanced procedures such as endoscopy, feeding tube placement, and CSF collection. Multiple pictures and illustrations are included to guide the clinician or veterinary technician through the procedure. The fifth section covers laboratory diagnostics and test procedures. This section provides information on sample collection, storage, transport, and interpretation for more then 100 tests. Veterinary technicians will find this section a valuable tool that will help eliminate the confusion associated with laboratory testing and sample submission and no doubt be useful at the lab bench. Charts and tables can be found in section six. These are easy to use and include conversion tables and valuable information on canine and feline vaccination recommendations. There are also several tables that have information on ferrets, rodents, and rabbits.
This text covers such a wide variety of procedures and treatments it will be used almost daily in not only emergency hospitals but also day practices. Because of the important role veterinary technician’s play in the care of the patient, this text will be as valuable to them as it is to the clinician.
Elsevier 2012
767 pages soft cover
ISBN: 978-1-4377-0798-4