Have you explored Associate yet?
You may find this "textbook/diagnostic helper" quite useful. Click the Associate link on either the SEARCH or LIBRARY page and then click the HELP tab (right column) to learn more about using this resource!

Too Busy to Attend Rounds?
Has business kept you too busy to attend the live Sunday Rounds?
Click the Rounds button on VIN's main nav bar, and you can read the transcripts of the last few Rounds - or click the Complete List Of Rounds Logs hyperlink to get to the list of the last 300 Rounds transcripts. (Rounds are also searchable via the SEARCH button. Just remember to choose Rounds as the "Source" in your search parameter.)

Current Events

Keep up with the latest news in the veterinary world by reading the Press Releases folder in the Vet Industry message board.

This week in the Press Releases folder: read about ACVIM's new CE offering.

Retrospective study of 46 cases of feline haemobartonellosis in Israel and their relationships with FeLV and FIV infections
The prevalence of both FeLV and FIV was much higher than in the general Israeli cat population. The cats infected with both Haemobartonella felis and FeLV had a significantly lower body temperature, were more anaemic, and the mean cell volume of their erythrocytes was greater than in the cats with haemobartonellosis alone.

Incidence of canine dysautonomia in Missouri, USA, between January 1996 and December 2000
Respondents had diagnosed 182 cases of dysautonomia, leading to an estimated statewide total of 609 cases over the 5 years. Regional incidence estimates ranged from 0 to 1.91 cases per 10,000 dog years at risk. Case-fatality risk was 92%.

Short report: concurrent Rocky Mountain spotted fever in a dog and its owner
A sequential occurrence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in a dog and its owner is described.

Environmental tobacco smoke and risk of malignant lymphoma in pet cats
Cats with 5 or more years of environmental tobacco smoke exposure had a relative risk of 3.2 compared with those in nonsmoking households. These findings suggest that passive smoking may increase the risk of malignant lymphoma in cats and that further study of this relation in humans is warranted.

Anesthesia For Pediatric OVH/Neuter
I think the biggest keys are fluid support, maintenance of body temperature, fluid support, sufficient analgesia, fluid support, proper drug selection, and fluid support. :-)

Possible HCM; Hypertension And Heart Murmurs In Cats
I know where you are coming from, but I still struggle with the reason for this. I cannot think of the physiology that would create a murmur when a patient is hypertensive.

Influence Of Collection Tubes On Heavy Metal Blood Concentrations
Becton Dickinson puts out a tube with a deep blue stopper (royal blue) specificially for heavy metal testing, and that is the one we recommend.

M-mode Dimensions: Body Weight/Body Surface/Body Length
Still, Mark leaves us in his comments with the item we can never forget. THE VARIABILITY in nature (biology), measurement (human and machine), etc. We don't - and may not ever have - a good handle on the exact limits of individual variability. Thus we should never lose our common sense in interpreting the numbers. And we should treat the patient, not the numbers.

Sunday Rounds
Sunday, December 29, NO Rounds
Instead of huddling over a computer, spend some time with your offline family during this holiday season. ;-)

Recent Rounds
* Practice Finances
* Care of the Bitch During Pregnancy
* UFOs: Unidentified Fever Origins
* Profit & Loss Statements
* Corticosteroids and Nervous System

What's Your Diagnosis?
Sick Drug Users

Speak Out:
Family vs Career, Real World vs Student

From VIN's Bookstore:
Parasitology

Survey of The Week Results:
* Nasal Mites
* Euthanasia Procedures
* FATE
* Veterinary Career Survey, Part 1

From the Boards:
* Artemisinin Chemo?
* Cardiomyopathy With Bradycardia
* Vaccinations (Reader's Digest)
* Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome

Dentistry CE for Veterinary Technicians
Pet Dental Month is coming up soon. How about a dental refresher course geared specifically toward your veterinary technicians?

VSPN CE announces an 8 CEU RACE-approved course your technicians shouldn't miss; just in time for holiday gifts or year end bonuses! Dentistry for Veterinary Technicians is a 5 week, 4 real time session class taught by Steve Holmstrom, DVM, DAVDC. The course runs from January 15 - February 20, 2003.

Due to the relatively high number of patients with periodontal disease in veterinary practice, emphasis is placed on the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease. This course will provide instruction to Registered/Certified/Licensed Veterinary Technicians, ancillary veterinary staff, and veterinary technician students on veterinary periodontics. There is a required text for this course, see information below.

This course covers essential skills required for those performing dental prophylaxis in practice.

Upon completion of this course, the participant should be able to:
1) Understand and recognize the cause, prevention, and treatment of periodontal disease.
2) Understand the duties of the Veterinary Technician as they relate to veterinary dentistry.

TEXTBOOK: Required Text is: Veterinary Dentistry for the Veterinary Technician and Office Staff. By Steve Holmstrom, DVM, DAVDC. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders, c2000. This book can be purchased from the VIN bookstore.

TO REGISTER:
1. You must be a registered member of VSPN (www.vspn.org). Membership in
VSPN is free. Registrants need to use their own secure information (username and password) when completing the enrollment form.
2. VIN Member veterinarians SHOULD NOT register for their staff. Please have the staff member register through VSPN. Please email VSPNCE@vspn.org if you have questions.