VetPro

Posted by: **jenvetadmin** on Sat Oct 03, 2009 3:57 am

It all starts with a biochemical called a “purine.” There are three types of purines:

Oxypurines (like “xanthine,” “hypoxanthine,” uric acid, and “allantoin” – words with which the Dalmatian owner should become very familiar.)

Aminopurines (like adenine and guanine that make up DNA.)

Methylpurines (like caffeine and theophylline, which are drugs)
We eat purines when we eat meat and drink them when we drink coffee and our livers convert them ultimately into something called “Allantoin” which is readily soluble in water and easy for us to unload in that waste/water mixture known as urine.

Purines convert to Hypoxanthine which converts to Xanthine
which converts to Uric Acid which coverts to Allantoin.

This system works for all just about all mammals except for Dalmatians. Dalmatians are different.

HOW DALMATIANS GET RID OF PURINES:

Dalmatians just cannot seem to convert uric acid to allantoin; the process described above never gets past the uric acid stage.

Dalmatian liver cells simply cannot absorb uric acid which is where the conversion to allantoin ought to take place. Dalmatians must excrete uric acid in their urine and the problem is that the stuff just is not that water soluble. Being unable to convert uric acid to allantoin is the main predisposing factor to uric acid stone formation and accounts for why 80% of uric acid bladder stones come from Dalmatians.

DO ALL DALMATIANS FORM URIC ACID STONES?

No, only some Dalmatians form stones and we do not know what makes one Dalmatian a stone former and another one clinically normal. There are genetic factors, dietary factors, and unknown factors.

We know that male Dalmatians are reported as stone formers more often than female Dalmatians but this may be a reflection of the fact that only male dogs have the added stone complication of urethral obstruction, a problem female dogs rarely have to worry about (thus male dogs may be seeing the vet for their stones more than female dogs do).

Stone forming Dalmatians seem to be excreting more uric acid than their non-stone forming counterparts. The average age at which a Dalmatian first is found to have stones is 4.5 years. The risk of stone formation declines as the dog ages.

Posted by: **jenvetadmin** on Mon Jun 22, 2009 5:31 am

Collimate well so that the area is as small as possible.

Stand at least 2 metres away.

Use a lead screen, lead gown and gloves as necessary.

X-ray your protective clothing from time to time to ensure there are no signs of wear and tear.

Always wear dosimeters and make sure they sent away to the NRPB as recommended. Make one person responsible for them.

Have a lead lined table and if possible surrounding walls.

Ensure the x-rays taken are necessary and try to get them right first time to avoid repeating them.
Use the correct plates, films and have good dark-room techniques – again to reduce repeated unnecessary x-rays being taken.

Keep an accurate log of all x-rays taken and see that the staffs are sharing the amount between them.

Do not allow staff to become complacent with x-rays.

Always give a warning before pressing the exposure button i.e. “x-rays” to warn others to keep away.

Remember x-rays can induce the formation of cancer and genetic defects.
X-rays are just one of many potential hazards to our health.

How does pregnancy affect our jobs as vets and nurses?
I have known many vns to have premature/small babies - is this just a coincedence?

Do many still continue as normal despite all the risks?

Posted by: **jenvetnurse** on Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:19 am

jenvetnurse writes:
It all starts with a biochemical called a “purine.” There are three types of purines:

Oxypurines (like “xanthine,” “hypoxanthine,” uric acid, and “allantoin” – words with which the Dalmatian owner should become very familiar.)

Aminopurines (like adenine and guanine that make up DNA.)

Methylpurines (like caffeine and theophylline, which are drugs)
We eat purines when we eat meat and drink them when we drink coffee and our livers convert them ultimately into something called “Allantoin” which is readily soluble in water and easy for us to unload in that waste/water mixture known as urine.

Purines convert to Hypoxanthine which converts to Xanthine
which converts to Uric Acid which coverts to Allantoin.

This system works for all just about all mammals except for Dalmatians. Dalmatians are different.

HOW DALMATIANS GET RID OF PURINES:

Dalmatians just cannot seem to convert uric acid to allantoin; the process described above never gets past the uric acid stage.

Dalmatian liver cells simply cannot absorb uric acid which is where the conversion to allantoin ought to take place. Dalmatians must excrete uric acid in their urine and the problem is that the stuff just is not that water soluble. Being unable to convert uric acid to allantoin is the main predisposing factor to uric acid stone formation and accounts for why 80% of uric acid bladder stones come from Dalmatians.

DO ALL DALMATIANS FORM URIC ACID STONES?

No, only some Dalmatians form stones and we do not know what makes one Dalmatian a stone former and another one clinically normal. There are genetic factors, dietary factors, and unknown factors.

We know that male Dalmatians are reported as stone formers more often than female Dalmatians but this may be a reflection of the fact that only male dogs have the added stone complication of urethral obstruction, a problem female dogs rarely have to worry about (thus male dogs may be seeing the vet for their stones more than female dogs do).

Stone forming Dalmatians seem to be excreting more uric acid than their non-stone forming counterparts. The average age at which a Dalmatian first is found to have stones is 4.5 years. The risk of stone formation declines as the dog ages.

Posted by: **jenvetadmin** on Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:40 am

New SOMATOM Spirit provides detailed scans of domestic pets - Croft Vets, the North East’s leading veterinary practice, recently opened its state-of-the-art flagship hospital in Cramlington, Northumberland to provide a centralised service. The new hospital is part of a £3 million investment by the organisation with a 24 hour emergency and surgical facility.

Included in the range of technology at the new site is an advanced CT scanner from Siemens Healthcare. Since the centre opened, the SOMATOM® Spirit CT has been used for general diagnostic imaging as well as orthopaedic referrals and neurology scans.

The SOMATOM Spirit at Croft Vets. (Left to right): Neil Lincoln, Siemens Regional Sales Manager and Louise McLean, Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

The system is a multislice CT scanner that offers an efficient and reliable solution. It also features outstanding image quality and short examination times to enhance diagnosis.

“Before the installation we had MR and X-ray facilities, but the new CT has allowed us to offer an advanced onsite facility for the range of domestic pets we treat at the practice,” said Joanne Jobling, Practice Manager at Croft Vets. “We recently treated a guinea pig for a fractured jaw but the diagnosis was not picked up with X-ray imaging.

Using the Spirit CT meant we could take the image and then rotate it to get a more comprehensive view of the structure as well as soft tissue information. The images it produces are amazing and allow us to diagnose with far greater accuracy.”

We hope the new scanner will enhance the great work being carried out at the centre, improving diagnosis and, as a result, the treatment provided for domestic pets.”

Posted by: **jenvetadmin** on Mon Jul 02, 2007 2:46 am

Ok, I know of many vets/vet nurses who have many patients that steals there heart but there is all ways one that you never forget, that's sticks with you, you know the one I mean, the one you connect with, the one who beats everything against all odd and surprises you.
Well i had one like that back in 2005 and I saw him again last week, still doing well and owners still grateful and thanking me for the hard work I as a nurse had put into his recovery.
So, this one morning, just before lunch a lady walks in clutching her much loved Yorkshire terrier 'Raggs' explaining the horrors of that morning, she had been to the local park as she did every day, let him off his lead and all though he is 9yrs old he runs ahead but not too far.
All of a sudden a greyhound shoots past her and knocking her off balance, as she regains her balance all she can see in the distance is Raggs in the greyhounds mouth being shook from side to side then up and down banging his head to the floor, once he is still the dog lets go and carries on running with a rather shocked owner trailing behind.
Raggs's owner runs over a scoots him up, the greyhounds owner finally catches up with her dog and returns giving contact details of where she can be found (this I was amazed with, not many have the courtesy to do this) then Raggs is brought straight down to surgery.
On examination there are no major defects, Raggs is quite aware of his surroundings and didn't seem to be in shock so as a precaution the On call vet gave ab's and anti inf/pain killers, as I picked Raggs up from the operating table he started to 'Crackle' my hand seemed to vanish into his chest and then he turned nasty grey.
So it was onto the operating table and under a GA. X-rays showed broken ribs and lung problems, the vet operating opened Raggs up and as we did so there were no ribs to be seen just a pulsating heart beat which then stopped, we did cpr and then for the rest of the op I breathed for him, the vet sutured his lung back and placed a three way tap obviously the ribs were sorted and he was sutured back up, I really didn't pay enough attention to give the details due to being more concerned about keeping Raggs alive.
Thankfully the little man came round from the anaesthetic but needed hourly drainage, due to us not being on call and not having overnight staff there was no one to do it so I took him home in a small box and got up every hour throughout the night, hardly slept and fell in love with him. He was allowed home the following day and 10days later i had the biggest bunch of flowers from him and his owners.
I hadn't seen him for a few years and last week he came in again for chest x-rays, his heart is enlarged and he is now on meds for life, he has 2 teeth left (the others were bashed out when attacked) but still runs around like a nutter.
The owners thanked me again for what I had done 2 years ago and explained that they don't know what they would have done if he did not make it (the dog was there sons who had passed away a few years before), they spend all there pension/savings on him and Ijust wish there were more owners out there who appreciated the hard work and efforts vets and there nurses put into caring for there animals. This one stole my heart, he's a brave old soul.
P.S The greyhounds owners paid the bill in full and also sent Raggs a get well soon card. This entry from VN Sam.

Does your pet have id?