Dr Gerardo Poli | Author

Dr Gerardo Poli

Address: 34 Goggs Road 4074 Jindalee, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.minivetguide.com

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25.01.2022 Idiopathic acute haemorrhagic diarrhoea syndrome (AHDS) previously known as haemorrhagic gastroenteritis remains the one disease where constant debate exists as to whether antibiotics should be used as part of the standard treatment. The logic behind using antibiotics to prevent bacterial translocation is sound, and if AHDS is truly initiated by Clostridium species or their toxins then the use of antibiotics can be justified. However, no knowledge exists of the true frequ...Continue reading

21.01.2022 This little one needed some extra love and comfort. They are tree-dwelling creatures, so find comfort in holding onto or hugging things, it helps them feel calm and safe especially when they are away from their natural habitat.

19.01.2022 Blood glucose is an important parameter that should be included in every emergency database. Hypoglycaemia is considered when blood glucose levels drop below 3.5mmol/L or 63mg/dL. Symptoms can start as being vague, such as lethargy and weakness, then progress to tremoring and seizures. One important point is that, in an emergency setting, although reduced food intake or starvation is written in text books, unless the patient is very young or a very small size it is not a co...mmon cause of hypoglycaemia. The liver has a fairly substantial capacity to continue to produce glucose during periods of reduced eating or starvation. Common causes HypoA blood glucose meter showing a blood glucose level of 1.8mmol/L. The common causes of hypoglycaemia I see in an emergency setting are: sepsis: bacteria consumes glucose hypoadrenocorticism: lack of cortisol insulin overdose: excessive intracellular shift insulinoma: malignant insulin secreting neoplasia of the pancreas hepatic insufficiency: reduce production Treatment is fairly straightforward and the impact is often dramatic 0.5ml/kg to 1ml/kg of 50% dextrose diluted 50:50 with saline given slow IV over a couple minutes (to reduce the risk of haemolysis). As the list of possible causes shows, a one-off dose of glucose is often not enough. Glucose supplementation often needs to be continued as a 2.5% continuous rate infusion (CRI), with frequent blood glucose monitoring and adjustments made to the rate as necessary. The CRI will need to be continued, as the hypoglycaemia will often continue to occur until the primary disease process is identified and appropriately addressed. Emergency database It is not uncommon to read or hear the term emergency database. This contains a number of blood parameters performed, which include: blood glucose alanine aminotransferase lactate blood urea nitrogen PCV total protein or total solids activated clotting time acid-base balance electrolytes

19.01.2022 Sneak peak of the next surgery series dropping soon to Vet Success Academy Clinical. Oh and if you have ever wondered how we film the clinical series, this shows you exactly how you get see everything I see whilst in surgery! Want to join click here www.vetsuccessacademy.com/clinical/

18.01.2022 One of my responsibilities in our emergency hospital is the training and mentoring of vets new to the field of emergency and critical care. The patient was bitten by another dog and presented with multiple puncture wounds and difficulty breathing. A common area I have found where clinicians request more training is radiographic interpretation....Continue reading

12.01.2022 Last time, we discussed core goals for social media within a veterinary practice. This time, I want to look at target audience how to define them, how to reach them and how to keep them engaged. Getting the audience right is essential. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time and money and who wants that? You need to put yourself in their mindset sometimes, we want to share something from the practice; however, is it really of interest to the pet-loving public?... Keep it simple is the best advice I was given. Social media posts tend to have a short shelf life blink and you miss them, so make your point quickly and make sure the intended audience knows to pay attention. What? When? How? You always have to think about what your audience wants to know, how it wants to know it and when it will be online to see it. By profiling your main audiences, you can then create images, video, wording and tone that is going to engage them. As with most things, having a strategy in place for each audience group is important. When you start, you want to experiment with timings of posts, style, and content and creative, but after a while, you will see a clear outline of who, what and when works for you. Hashtags are a type of metadata tag used on social network and microblogging services that make it easier for users to find messages with a specific theme or content. It is important to use the insights on your chosen platform from that, you can learn which posts are the most liked, most shared, the demographics of your audience and the times that seem to get the most engagement. Reaching the right people Make sure you have researched hashtags, locations, interest groups, ages and keywords. Also, when you add an image, video or blog, make sure your tagging and keywords are accurate and up to date. Many social platforms and networks reward a page for relevance and authentic content. This is even more important for paid content it may be tempting to get likes and follows from the cheapest targeting; however, it is better to build an audience of those who may need your service and are relevant. Also, regularly profiling your audience may show a potential audience group you are missing such as, perhaps, a younger demographic, a location that doesn’t engage or an industry angle. Striking the right balance My book The MiniVet Guide is aimed at helping students through their studies and in clinical practice so a key audience for me is veterinary students. I love sharing tips, tutorials and surgical videos to help them in their journey as they become a vet and their response has been incredible. I quickly discovered what engaged them and what didn’t even if I sometimes want to post something different, you have to find the right balance between what you enjoy sharing and what the audience wants to see. Next time, I will look at what platforms to use and how to get the most out of them. #socialmediavet #vetcoach #emergencyvet

10.01.2022 Goals, targeting and platform are really important, but the most important aspect is, of course, content what will you actually say and will your audience see it? Generating content can be really time-consuming, but one thing I’ve learned is I tend to overthink it a simple image or short video can really speak to people; it doesn’t always have to be profound or polished. However, a plan needs to be in place to make it work. Think about who will create your posts interna...l staff or external, and if external, how well do they know your business? Most posts should have an action you want people to take, so make it really clear if it’s a click, sign-up or watch. Plus, think about who will schedule it and who will monitor it. Mix it up At our hospital, we try to be consistent and post three times a week on the same days and times although when we started, we did experiment with different days and times to see where we got the most engagement from our audience. We find what works best is cute, informative and surgical (or gory) posts. However, no winning formula exists expecting something to go viral is almost a guarantee it will not. The best advice is you have to mix it up, try new things and see what works best, but don’t stop experimenting and learning. Permission to post The most important aspect in a veterinary practice, if you are showcasing pets, is consent always ask permission before posting. It is one of our key policies and we have a robust process, using consent forms and telephone calls, to ensure clients are happy with us telling their story. For us, in emergency, this is essential as we deal with some of the sickest of sick pets. With this in mind, we tend to wait until they have been discharged from our care for a number of weeks and follow up with a call to see how the patient is before we consider releasing videos or case studies. Make sure they also know the posts are for the purpose of education and prevention. Make sure you are prepared to respond to questions and comments.Make sure you are prepared to respond to questions and comments. Back and forth Always remember, too, that social media is a two-way street. When you open yourself up on social media, be prepared for questions, comments and reviews that come your way. Set aside time and have a policy in place for answering and responding. This is especially true for the negative ones, which, inevitably, despite best intentions, every practice will get. Done well, and with the right time, team and money invested, social media in the veterinary industry is a brilliant way to showcase the fascinating, inspiring, sometimes strange and utterly rewarding work we do each and every day.

08.01.2022 Secondary survey refers to the detailed physical examination performed after the primary survey, and should only be performed once the patient has been adequately stabilised. It is always important to perform physical examinations systematically to avoid overlooking organ systems. This could be difficult in a stressful emergency situation, so one way to remind yourself is with the following acronym: A CRASH PLAN... A Airway respiratory pattern airway patency C Cardiovascular circulation heart sounds pulses capillary refill time R Respiratory respiratory sounds bruising external wounds to chest A Abdomen palpation bruising external wounds fast ultrasound: abdomen: free fluid (diaphragmatic-hepatic site, splenorenal site, cysto-colic site, hepatorenal site) bladder integrity thorax (do this at the same time as assessing the abdominal cavity): ensure you do both left and right sides chest tube site pericardial site wet/dry/third space S Spine and tail gait and posture pain sensation crepitus H Head mentation cognitive function cranial nerves external wounds/bruising eyes including symmetry, third eyelids, eye position, haemorrhage and detailed ophthalmological examination ears nose CPRThe secondary survey will help identify any concurrent problems not seen on the primary survey. P Pelvis wounds bruising pain cepitus perineum external genitalia L Limbs deformities fractures pain bruising wounds weight bearing vs non-weight bearing A Arteries all accessible superficial arteries pulses and pressure N Nerves mentation cranial nerves conscious proprioception postural reflexes peripheral spinal reflexes withdrawal reflexes deep pain cutaneous trunci reflex anal tone Stable patient By following the primary and secondary triage processes consistently, you should be able to quickly determine the order of criticalness of patients, institute appropriate resuscitative measures and manage life-threatening injuries. Then, with your thorough physical examination, identify any other concurrent problems not seen on the primary survey. Overall, you have a stable patient, and are able to formulate an appropriate diagnostic and treatment plan.

05.01.2022 I read an article on What Veterinarians and veterinary students really want and the top three things wanted from a veterinary role were work-life balance, positive team environment and mentorship. Over the next three weeks I want to explore these three topics and offer my perspective on how to achieve them. For someone who often works 36 hours in 2 days, finding balance in my life is something I have to work on. The first thing I thought of was what does work-life balance m...Continue reading

04.01.2022 This patient was brought to us for exercise intolerance, breathing difficulty and loud airway sounds. The patient has laryngeal paralysis. This is where the muscles controlling the arytenoids cartilages do not work and leads to failure of opening of the arytenoids during inspiration. Most commonly seen in middle-aged large breed dogs, it can occur acutely, but more often it is a chronic problem exacerbated by heat or stress. The cause is often unknown, but it can be caused by... trauma or lesion to the cervical region or some kind of neuropathy, such as myasthenia gravis or tick paralysis. Diagnosis is based on visualisation of the arytenoid cartilages failing to abduct during inspiration under light anaesthesia. Treatment The management of the acute presentations include oxygen and sedation (butorphanol) to improve airway dynamics with or without active cooling triggered by heat and with or without anti-inflammatories (dexamethasone) to reduce swelling secondary to airway turbulence. Patients in severe respiratory distress, anaesthesia and intubation may be required for a short period. Long-term management involves either surgery, such as laryngeal tieback, or conservative management strategies that involve weight loss, avoiding exercise and being kept in a cool environment. #vetlife #emergencyvet #vetstudent