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What's New At Atlantic Coast Vet:
You're Invited To Lecture By Dr. Berg & Dinner
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Dr. Jason M. Berg |
All veterinarians and their staff are invited to attend a lecture by our staff neurologist, Jason M. Berg, DVM, Diplomate American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology and Internal Medicine) on the topic, "Was that a Seizure? Movement Disorders: Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis."
The presentation will help practitioners identify seizures, distinguish seizures from other movement disorders, and provide a diagnostic and therapeutic scheme for various conditions that may cause seizures.
The lecture will take place on Thursday, March 11, at 8 PM at Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialists, 3250 Veterans Memorial Hwy., Bohemia, NY. It will be preceded by dinner at 7 PM and is worth two CE credits with NYSVMS.
Kindly RSVP by Thursday, March 4 to 631-285-7780.
Now Enrolling Patients For Clinical Trial:
Urethroplasty Treatment For Urinary Incontinence
Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialists is currently enrolling patients for an expanded clinical trial of urethroplasty treatment for urinary incontinence due to intrinsic sphincter deficiency that have been treated with DES or PPA and continue to have clinical signs.
For more details, refer to our October 2009 e-newsletter or contact George A. Kramer DVM, DACVIM or Gianira Candelario Acevedo DVM, Internal Medicine Resident at 1-631-285-7780. |
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FDA Alert: Merrick Beef Filet Squares Dog Treats
Packaged And Distributed By Merrick Pet Care
The U. S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use Merrick Beef Filet Squares for dogs distributed by Merrick Pet Care with a package date of "Best By 111911" because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.
The affected Merrick Beef Filet Squares were packaged in a 10-oz. green, red, and tan re-sealable plastic bag. The "best by" date is printed on the top of the bag, which is torn off when the bag is opened. The FDA recommends that consumers who can't determine the "best by" date discontinue use of the product.
The product was distributed nationwide through retail stores and Internet sales.
Although no illnesses associated with these products have been reported, the FDA is advising consumers in possession of these products not to handle or feed them to their pets.
In December, the FDA conducted routine testing of the dog treats and detected a positive finding for Salmonella. A follow-up inspection found deficiencies in the packaging and manufacturing processes.
Pets with Salmonella infections may become lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets may experience only a decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected, but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans.
Merial Veterinarians Continue To Triage Supply
Of Immiticide Due To Temporary Shortage
To manage a temporary shortage of a canine heartworm treatment called Immiticide (melarsomine dihydrochloride), Duluth, GA-based Merial continues to consult with veterinarians on a case-by-case basis, according to the company.
Immiticide is the only drug licensed in the United States to treat adult heartworms in canine patients.
"This is a temporary delay and we are managing inventory to make Immiticide available to customers who have an urgent need," the company adds.
Veterinarians with a patient in need of heartworm treatment should call Merial directly at 1-888-637-4251, option 1. The company's veterinarians will consider overall health of the dog, disease classification, absence or presence of clinical signs, and other criteria.
That means veterinarians who elect to use the drug can no longer order enough to stock.
"We want to make sure we can supply the product for emergency cases and cases with the greatest need," explains a Merial spokesperson. "We are working diligently to return to full supply as soon as possible," although the company could not estimate when supplies will return to normal levels.
The shortage was spurred by "unforeseen technical difficulties during a planned manufacturing site transfer," the spokesperson reports. Letters were mailed to veterinarians in December alerting them of the situation.
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Funny Bones
Pets That'll Make You Smile:
Practice Makes Purr-fect!
Nora's playing isn't purr-fect yet, but she still enjoys taking requests.
The Kat-chaturian Dance, perhaps?
Click here for the concert. (Don't forget to turn up the volume!)
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Events Calendar (March-April)
Thursday, March 4
LIVMA monthly meeting
Thursday, March 11
Jason M. Berg, DVM, on "Was that a Seizure? Movement Disorders: Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis"
Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialists
[7 PM, dinner; 8 PM, lecture]
Click here for more information.
Click here for other state, national, and global veterinary events in March.
Thursday, April 8
LIVMA monthly meeting
Click here for other state, national, and global veterinary events in April.
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About Atlantic Coast
Veterinary Specialists
At Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialists, our commitment is to provide you — the referring veterinarian — and your clients, the best and the latest in modern veterinary medicine.
Whether it is through our mobile ultrasound service or through our referral and emergency services available, Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialists is here to work with you as a partner on those difficult and challenging cases. We look forward to hearing from you.
Please feel free to call any member
of our Board-Certified staff for help and assistance.
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Anesthesiologists Update Monitoring Recommendations
The American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists (ACVA) has updated its guidelines for monitoring anesthetized veterinary patients. The document now includes sections on body temperature, neuromuscular blockade, and recovery period as well as a section on monitoring sedated patients.
The ACVA developed its original recommendations on anesthetic monitoring in 1994, and JAVMA published them in 1995. The old and new guidelines cover the topics of circulation, oxygenation, ventilation, record keeping, and personnel.
The benchmark for measuring a successful anesthetic outcome has shifted from a lack of anesthetic mortality toward a decrease in anesthetic morbidity, according to the ACVA statement prefacing the 2009 guidelines. More objective definition and earlier detection of pathophysiologic conditions such as hypotension, hypoxemia, and severe hypercapnia have facilitated the shift toward minimizing anesthetic morbidity. Skillful, attentive personnel have incorporated newer monitoring methods during anesthesia.
The ACVA says that "it recognizes that it is possible to monitor and manage anesthetized patients without special equipment and that some of the methods in the guidelines could be impractical in certain clinical settings. The ACVA does not suggest that using any or all the recommended methods will ensure any specific patient outcome or that failure to use them will result in poor outcome."
A 'Grim Reaper' Cat May Sense Human Death
The scientist in Dr. David Dosa was skeptical when first told that Oscar, an aloof cat kept by a nursing home, regularly predicted patients' deaths by snuggling alongside them in their final hours.
Dosa's doubts eroded after he and his colleagues tallied about 50 correct calls made by Oscar over five years, a process he explains in a book released last month, "Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat."
Dosa, 37, a geriatrician and professor at Brown University, once feared that families would be horrified by the furry grim reaper, especially after Dosa made Oscar famous in a 2007 essay in the New England Journal of Medicine. Instead, he says many caregivers consider Oscar a comforting presence.
The nursing home adopted Oscar, a medium-haired cat with a gray-and-brown back and white belly, in 2005. After a year, the staff noticed Oscar would spend his days pacing from room to room. He sniffed and looked at the patients but rarely spent much time with anyone -- except when they had just hours to live.
He's accurate enough that the staff -- including Dosa -- know it's time to call family members when Oscar stretches beside their patients, who are generally too ill to notice his presence. If kept outside the room of a dying patient, he'll scratch at the door, trying to get in.
Nurses once placed Oscar in the bed of a patient they thought gravely ill. Oscar wouldn't stay put, and the staff thought his streak was broken. Turns out, the medical professionals were wrong, and the patient rallied for two days. But in the final hours, Oscar held his bedside vigil without prompting.
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QUIZ : What’s Your Diagnosis?
By Jason M. Berg, DVM, Diplomate
American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Neurology and Internal Medicine)
Signalment: 12yr MC DSH -- Griffin
CC: Episodes
Onset: 8 months
History: Griffin has had three separate episodes of acute onset hiding and anorexia. During each exam, the RDVM found the cat to be circling. CBC/Chemistry/T4/Toxoplasmosis titer/Blood pressure/radiographs were all normal. The first time he was treated for otitis media with Baytril and improved to normal within two days. The second episode two months later he was given a Depomedrol injection and improved to normal within two days. The third episode two months subsequent he responded to a Vetalog injection. During this time, Griffin had lost 4#. Interepisode the owner reports that Griffin is 100% normal.
Physical exam: Normal
Neurological Exam:
Mentation: Dull Appropriate
Cranial Nerves: Decreased menace and palpebral reflexes OD, all other cranial nerves were normal
Gait: No ataxia, normal gait
Conscious Proprioception: Decreased RF/RH
Motor: Normal tone
Sensory: Normal
Neurological localizations: L cerebral
DDX: Tumor (meningioma vs glioma vs lymphoma) vs recurrent vascular events vs infectious (cryptococcus)
Question: Based on the history and presentation, what diagnostics should be performed?
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