Management of disease - general

Question 1

How does the gauging system on needles work?

Answer 1

the bigger the gauge the smaller the width of the needle

Question 2

How can you select the most appropriate needle for what you are doing?

Answer 2

larger animals need a longer length needle
for more viscous solutions need a smaller gauge needle
viscous solutions rarely given IM

Question 3

How do the basic antibiotics work?

Answer 3

1. Disrupt cell wall production beta - lactams, Penicillins, Cephalosporins
   
   2. DNA action inhibitors - Potentiated sulphonamides, Fluoroquinolones
   3. Protein synthesis inhibitors - Streptomycin, Tetracyclines, Macrolides, Florphenicol
      Cell membrane function - Monensin

Question 4

What colour tube Is EDTA and what is it used for?

Answer 4

1Purple – used for whole blood, prevents coagulation – used for PCV, blood smear etc

Question 5

What colour tube Is serum gel and what is it used for?

Answer 5

Yellow – don’t separate, leave for 15-30 mins before spinning, contains clot activator

Question 6

What colour tube Is fluoride/ oxalate and what is it used for?

Answer 6

Grey – for glucose analysis

Question 7

What colour tube Is lithium heparin and what is it used for?

Answer 7

Green – spin and separate immediately, used for blood biochemistry

Question 8

What colour tube Is citrate?

Answer 8

Blue – for coagulation studies

Question 9

What colour tube Is serum activator and what is it used for?

Answer 9

Colourless – don’t use for cytology

Question 10

What colour tube Is plain and what is it used for?

Answer 10

white, rarely used for blood mostly for collecting other fluids

Question 11

Why do we do urinalysis?

Answer 11

to determine if there is an infection of the urogenital tract, to identify neoplasia of the urogenital tract, to check the concentrating ability of the kidneys, to identify any underlying diseases

Question 12

What is catheterisation used for?

Answer 12

to remove blockages, to collect urine samples, to do bladder contrast studies

Question 13

Why does urine have to be analysed rapidly?

Answer 13

because when left the carbon dioxide evaporates raising the pH of the urine, bacteria can grow which weren’t previously there or bacteria that were present can die, any bilirubin present may break down and crystals can form. All these affect diagnostic quality

Question 14

What are the causes of red urine and how can they be distinguished from one another?

Answer 14

haemaglobinuria – haemoglobin in the urine, when spun down does not separate out. In other tests may see spherocytes, Heinz bodies and ghost cells and anaemia.
Haematuria – red blood cells in the urine, when spun down these will separate out. Often coupled with anaemia
Myoglobinuria –myoglobin in the urine does not separate out when spun but will see raised CK and AST levels on blood tests

Question 15

What measurements should be discounted on a urine dipstick?

Answer 15

leucocytes, specific gravity and nitrites

Question 16

What is the normal pH of dog and cat urine?

Answer 16

5-7.5

Question 17

What causes acidic urine?

Answer 17

Protein rich diet, metabolic or respiratory acidosis

Question 18

What causes alkaline urine?

Answer 18

Cereal rich diet, respiratory or metabolic alkylosis and UTI s caused by urease positive organisms

Question 19

What causes proteinuria?

Answer 19

UTI, Haematuria or kidney loss (protein losing nephropathy)

Question 20

What causes glucosuria?

Answer 20

Glucosuria caused by chronic renal disease or diabetes mellitus where the amount of glucose exceeds the renal tubule’s capacity for reabsorption

Question 21

What causes bilirubinuria?

Answer 21

Bilirubinuria due to red blood cell break down which is usually excreted in bile, small amounts normal in dogs not normal in cats

Question 22

What causes ketones in the urine?

Answer 22

Due to incomplete oxidation of fatty acids due to diabetes mellitus, starvation or prolonged fasting. Never normal

Question 23

What is the normal urine specific gravity for a cat and dog?

Answer 23

1.016-1.060 in dogs and 1.020 – 1.040 in cats

Question 24

What are casts?

Answer 24

Casts are moulds of the renal tubules created by mucoproteins, a small number are normal

Question 25

What are struvite crystals?

Answer 25

Struvite crystals are found in alkaline urine, can be normal or be due to a UTI

Question 26

What are amorphous crystals?

Answer 26

Amorphous crystals are normal and are made of phosphate in alkaline urine and urate in acidic urine

Question 27

What are calcium oxalate dihydrate crystals?

Answer 27

Calcium oxalate dehydrate crystals are normal and can form in standing urine

Question 28

What are calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals?

Answer 28

Calcium oxalate monohydrate can be due to ingestion of oxalate rich foods or due to ethylene glycol poisoning - look like picket fences

Question 29

What are ammonium biurate and uric acid crystals?

Answer 29

Ammonium biurate and uric acid crystals can signify liver disease or portosystemic shunts

Question 30

What are cysteine crystals?

Answer 30

Cysteine crystals, hexagonal are never normal and signify a metabolic deficiency

Question 31

How do you calculate the dose needed in ml of a drug

Answer 31

body weight x dose rate / concentration

Question 32

How are x-rays produced

Answer 32

a cathode produces electrons in a vacuum. the electrons are then accelerated to collide with the anode which produces the x-rays
the size and shape of the beam is determined by collimators

Question 33

What things should you look for to assess the quality of an x-ray

Answer 33

exposure
collimation
correct labelling
correct positioning
no movement blur
no artefacts
ensure thoracic x-rays are done on inspiration

Question 34

What are the 5 radio-opacities

Answer 34

air - most radiolucent
fat
soft tissue and fluid
mineral - bone
metal - most radio-opaque

Question 35

What is beam attenuation?

Answer 35

attenuation is how much the beam is prevented from passing through an object
- white objects attenuate the beam almost completely while black objects do not attenuate the beam at all

Question 36

What should you keep in mind when describing a radiographic lesion

Answer 36

• use correct directional terms
• use anatomical land marks
• use relative radio-opacities
• describe the margins of the subject of interest
• describe changes in shape, size, opacity, number
• acurately describe the size of subjects of interest
• look for absence of structures which should be there

Question 37

What does effacement mean?

Answer 37

loss of normal contrasting opacity and borders due to something