Join Michele Gaspar, DVM, DABVP (Feline), to learn why the devil is in the details when it comes to antibiotic resistance.

This session will be presented as TEXT only, no AUDIO.

Use the Rounds link in the main navigation bar to join the discussions.

If you can't attend, be sure to check the Rounds or Front Page of VIN, or next Tuesday's VIN This Week, for links to the transcript of the discussion.

Mighty Microbes!
It seem like microbes are always one step ahead of us. When you need some assistance in your war against germs, the new Infectious Diseases & Immunology Specialty Center can be a trusty sidekick.

Resources from both within and outside VIN are gathered together in this one convenient location. The Infectious Diseases Center contains guidelines and consensus statements on various infections; updated Associate chapters on bacterial, mycotic, viral, and rickettsial diseases; and pertinent FAQ articles. Links to client handouts, informational websites, laboratory/testing services and educational slide shows are also provided.

When microbes try to get you down, don’t forget this helpful resource center. The Infectious Diseases & Immunology Specialty Center can be reached through the About Page for the Infectious Disease Message Board and the Specialty Centers section of the VIN Library.

Stuff your Notes in your MyStuff
Do you have notes for yourself left all over your desk, on your computer, in a notebook, or on brightly colored sticky pad paper that you use every day? Tired of trying to organize and access them easily? Give the 'Notes' feature for MyStuff on Beta.vin.com a try!

From your MyStuff, select 'Add', give it a title, and then select 'Add Notes'.

You can add a note individually or associate it with a new or not-so-new link in your MyStuff. To add a note to a MyStuff link you already have stored, select 'modify' then 'Add Notes.' You can even encrypt your notes for added security.

Please take a moment and look around and let us know what you think. If you have any suggestions or comments, your feedback is always appreciated!

Email feedback@vin.com or post on the message boards.

Keep an eye on this section of VIN This Week to find out what new toys you can help us perfect on Beta.vin.com.

If you want the latest and greatest and want to be on the "bleeding edge" of where VIN is going, make Beta.vin.com your VIN Homepage.

NEWS THAT'S FIT TO CLICK
and discuss;
News Reported for YOU...

• ‘Party time’s over’ for flea and tick killer ProMeris
  Public | VIN | Discussion
• Merial Frontline/rabies vaccine promotion draws fire
  VIN | Discussion
• Animal health companies move toward consolidation
  Public | VIN | Discussion
• Silver lining for veterinary medicine in failed union of pharmaceutical giants
  Public | VIN | Discussion

Evolving stories
* Online heartworm woes
* What is the suicide risk among veterinarians?
* Practitioners discuss robenacoxib (Onsior), newly approved in U.S.
* Fairness to Pet Owners Act would require veterinarians to provide prescriptions

Be a VIN newshound:
VNS is here to give YOU a voice and report news that is important to YOU. Got an idea for a story? Have a story that needs covering? Post it on the boards or e-mail Reporters@vin.com.

Share news.vin.com with nonVINners. The VIN News Service (without access to the community discussions) is now publicly available.

Now you can follow VNS on Twitter! Send a Twitter request to receive the VNS Tweets.

New and Revised
Share these with your clients!

• On the Move
• Compounding Pharmacies (revised)

Texas Farm Radio

• Managing Heaves in Horses

In vitro comparison of mechanical and degradation properties of equivalent absorbable suture materials from two different manufacturers
Differences in mechanical properties exist between nominally identical suture materials from different manufacturers.

One stage functional end-to-end stapled intestinal anastomosis and resection performed by nonexpert surgeons for the treatment of small intestinal obstruction in 30 dogs
Stapled 1-stage functional end-to-end anastomosis and resection is a fast and safe procedure in the hand of nonexpert but trained surgeons.

Surgical technique, postoperative complications and outcome in 14 dogs treated for hydrocephalus by ventriculoperitoneal shunting
Four of the 14 dogs developed complications one week to 18 months postoperatively, including ventricular catheter migration, infection, shunt under-drainage, kinking of the peritoneal catheter, valve fracture, and abdominal skin necrosis. Three of these dogs had one or more successful revision surgeries and one dog was successfully treated with antibiotics.

How can I get staff members on board with my vision for the practice?
They feel that the hospital has been uprooted and that it isn't about them anymore....First, NONE of them ever lets me know how they are feeling (and I'm a big pushover, which is part of my own managerial problem). No one ever suggest things about how to improve a problem (for the most part). I pay medical, half dental, vacation, sick time, CE. I have told them upfront that I cannot afford any raises. That I am doing everything I can think of to keep us afloat, to not fire anyone. I could very easily have gotten rid of three staff members (2 part-time and 1 full-time) because of our present scheduling. I don't because these are people, friends, staff members, not just numbers. But after hearing about how they feel about that the practice isn't about them any more, am I missing something?

Ongoing problems with Intravet version four
We too are still having problems with the 4.0 system, although it is getting easier to get in touch with the support crew when we need them. We had one of the "tier 3" techs last week tell us that a lot of our missing invoice/history data may be related to invoicing and completing medical history for the same patient at the same time - theoretically the system is not supposed to let that happen, but now that the tech has seen it himself, that is hopefully going to be addressed in the January "fix". We have a small hospital, and this system has made the past month a very trying time for us. I cannot imaging what this would be like in a large hospital with multiple doctors.

Dog with methicillin-resistant staphylococcal pyoderma: Treatment options and is vancomycin recommended?
NO VANCOMYCIN in any way, shape, or form for pyoderma. It should only be used in veterinary patients who have a life-threatening infection,and even then, I vote for amikacin over it, myself. I think that amikacin can be used very safely in dogs with pyoderma but it does bother me to use it for superficial pyoderma. We now try to talk our owners into aggressive topical therapy. This means daily bathing with 4% chlorhexidine until the infection resolves. I did a little study in our practice in which I took 10 dogs with MRSP and only bathed them. By 2 weeks they were dramatically better and by 4 weeks they were cured.

This session will not use AUDIO.

Virtual Coffeehouse
Tuesday, April 26, 9:30 p.m. ET
(Wednesday, April 27, 1:30 a.m. GMT/UTC)
Stop by to say hello and catch up.

Want to See what you've been Missing?

• The Good Death
• Avian Zoonoses @
• Evaluating Therapeutic Diets @
• Perioperative Opioid Combos @
• Cervical Spine Imaging @
• VIN Hemorrhage Simulator @
• AAFP: Feline Pancreatitis
• Better Pred Than Dead @

Listen to or read past Rounds
If you would rather listen to than read a previous Rounds session, download VINCasts to your MP3 player. Rounds that have available VINCasts are marked with @.

Click the Rounds button on the VIN Main Navigation bar and read the transcripts of the last few Rounds, and click the complete list of rounds to get to the list of the last 300 Rounds transcripts. Or you can click on Rounds and Discussions in the VIN Library.

Rounds are also searchable via the search button. Just remember to choose Rounds (under the Clinical Resources tab) as the "Source" in your search parameters.

Finding those Elusive Past Clinical Updates
Have you seen a pertinent journal article or message board discussion highlighted as a Clinical Update on the Front Page, but not been able to find it again later?

Fret no more! You can search clinical updates from the journals and message boards by using the VIN Search and choosing Clinical Updates on the All Resources tab before or after entering your search terms.

Even BETTER, almost every VIN page now has the Quick Search box just below the Main Navigation Bar (Front Page | Message Boards, etc.). In the drop down menu, you will find several other options that allow you to limit your search to Clinical Updates and specific VIN resources.

Once you find that tidbit you've been searching for, be sure to click the little red heart or "Add to Mystuff" to MyStuff it.

Next time you need that nugget of information, simply click MyVIN on the main navigation bar and use the search within your MyStuff to find it.

Need Help?
Have questions about your membership? Can't find that reference you need for a tough case? Help is a click, email or phone call away! (Hint: you can find this page anytime by clicking HELP on the main VIN Navigation Bar.)

Attended a VIN CE course? Purchased a book from the book store? Used the document delivery service? Need a copy of your receipt for taxes?

The Membership Statement tool makes it easy for you to print a copy. It's in your MyVIN -- click on MyVIN in the main navigation bar near the top of most VIN pages. Choose Membership > Statement.

Your VIN membership and online access charges are likely tax deductible. Check with your tax professional.

Please let us know if anything doesn't seem right to you. Email feedback@vin.com or join the discussion.

Book Review of the Week
Exotic Animal Care and Management
Catch up on previous Book Reviews!

Website of the Week
Veterinary Clinical Research - Database in Homeopathy

eVetSites Tip of the Week
eVetSites Spring Updates 2011

What's your Diagnosis?
Archives of the Challenging and Fun Cases
Ophthalmology Case 129
Pathology Case 67

Associate - Updated and New:
Pentatrichomoniasis (canine)
Explore the rest of Associate!

From the Boards:
* FDA Has Approved Onsior
* How Is Business This Year?
* NAVMEC Webinar: The Evolution Of Veterinary Medical Education
* What Price Increases On Drugs Are Affecting You?

Upcoming Conferences
Looking to attend or contribute a paper to a veterinary conference? Check out the On the Road with VIN folder, or the Press Releases folder, to see what conferences are coming up and to visit their websites! Links to information about upcoming conferences include: Voorjaarsdagen, ABVP, IAAAM, and AVA.

It smells like victory in the morning
No anal gland smell is pleasant, but I really hate that metallic bouquet that some of them have. I'm surprised I didn't vomit the time I got it right in the face. I had to wash my hair in soap but I still smelled it all day (it was first thing in the morning, naturally). That was when I was an assistant, and I opened my vet school application essay with the quotation, "The best advice I ever received was 'never express anal glands with your mouth open.' " I think that might have been what got me into vet school, since it sure wasn't my interviews.

NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT!
Click on the links below to see the details, register, and find more upcoming CE.

Systems B: Organ System Pathophysiology and ABVP Core Examination Review
April 28 - July 7, 2011

This course consists of eight (8) 2-hour real-time sessions and builds on the on foundations of pathophysiology and medicine in modules 1 and 2. The emphasis will be on pathophysiologic basis of diseases of the neurology, dentistry, behavior, musculoskeletal, gastroenterology body systems. The course can be used as a portion of the preparation for the ABVP Core examination, but it is not designed as a test-preparation course.

Systems C: Organ System Pathophysiology and ABVP Core Examination Review
July 7 - September 1, 2011

This course consists of seven (7) 2-hour real-time sessions and builds on the on foundations of pathophysiology and medicine in modules 1 and 2, The emphasis will be on pathophysiologic basis of diseases of the endocrine, fluids/electrolytes/acid base, nephrology, urology and reproduction body systems.
The course can be used as a portion of the preparation for the ABVP Core examination, but it is not designed as a test-preparation course.

Systems D: Organ System Pathophysiology and ABVP Core Examination Review
September 1 - October 27, 2011

This course consists of seven (7) 2-hour real-time sessions and builds on the on foundations of pathophysiology and medicine in modules 1 and 2. The emphasis will be on Ophthalmology, Infectious disease, Hematology/Coagulation and Immunology.
The course can be used as a portion of the preparation for the ABVP Core examination, but it is not designed as a test-preparation course.

If you're looking for more information on
CE opportunities for veterinary technicians, receptionists or practice managers, visit the VSPN CE page. VSPN offers courses specifically tailored to veterinary support personnel, and certain VIN courses also are open to VSPN members.

Now you can follow VIN CE and VSPN on Twitter! Simply click the "Send request" button to prompt the (VIN-VSPN) crews to accept you as a follower.