This webinar will guide us through the diagnostic approach of the ‘yellow cat’, mentioning some of the fascinating particularities of the feline species. Whilst icterus can be a very noticeable clinical sign that is straightforward to identify, it is not pathognomonic of a specific disease. Understanding bilirubin metabolism is indispensable in classifying icterus and building the differential diagnosis list which will guide the investigations. As we all are very aware, cats are not small dogs! Their metabolic and anatomical characteristics impact the type of pathology we observe in practice. Amongst other differences, cats are strict carnivores and are less adaptable when protein intake decreases. Their common bile duct joins the pancreatic duct before entering the duodenum, which may increase the risk of ascending bacterial infection. Feline characteristics are also important to bear in mind when interpreting blood and urine laboratorial analysis. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

Chiara Piccinelli discusses the basics of in house analysers technology and its applications, plus understanding the significance of leukocyte parameters provided by automated analysers. She also covers how to interpret pattern of changes, integrating information provided by dot plots and guide blood smear reviews. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

Canine brucellosis is an infectious and zoonotic disease caused by a bacterium called Brucella canis which is highly contagious between dogs. This disease is uncommonly encountered in the UK and is a reportable disease. Due to the increase in numbers of dogs being imported into the UK from Eastern Europe, where the infection is endemic, the risk of this disease in the UK is increasing, and the first reported case of dog to human transmission has now been reported. Brucellosis in dogs can cause reproductive signs including abortion and infertility, but many animals may be asymptomatic. The greatest risk of exposure is contact with aborted tissue or reproductive fluids. This short webinar discusses the clinical presentation, available diagnostic tests and treatment options for this emerging infectious disease. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

Canine lymphoid leukaemia is a relatively common lymphoproliferative disease in dogs. A definitive diagnosis and classification based on degree of cell maturation is crucial to stablish appropriate therapy and providing an accurate prognosis. Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) has a very reasonable prognosis with survivals ranging from 1-3 years with minimal therapy while acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) has short lived responses to multiagent chemotherapeutic protocols, with survivals of barely 3-5 months. The diagnostic process is much more straightforward these days as after an initial haematology and blood smear evaluation, flow cytometry often allows diagnosis in peripheral blood if high circulating numbers of neoplastic cells are present. This technique aids in differentiating acute from chronic leukaemia and even provides prognostic information for CLL as B cell types have shorter survivals as well as those dogs with leukemic immunophenotypic aberrant profiles. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus of domestic cats worldwide. Cats lacking strong FeLV-specific immunity and undergoing progressive infection commonly develop fatal FeLV-associated disease. Many aspects of FeLV infection pathogenesis have been elucidated, some during more recent years using molecular techniques. It is recommended that the FeLV status of every cat is known, since FeLV infection can influence the prognosis and clinical management of every sick cat. Knowledge of a cat’s FeLV status is of epidemiological importance to prevent further spread of the infection. The question is… how often are you testing for this important disease? Diagnosing FeLV infection remains challenging due to the different outcomes of infection, which can vary over time depending on the balance between the virus and the host’s immune system. Furthermore, testing for FeLV infection has become more refined over the years and now includes diagnostic assays for different viral and immunological parameters. The question is… which test is best and when? This webinar presents recent knowledge on FeLV pathogenesis, key features to be determined in FeLV infection, and frequently used FeLV detection methods, and their characteristics and interpretation. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month‘ webinars is available here.

A short overview of the pathophysiology of canine hypothyroidism with a focus on the commonly associated laboratory tests including test/diagnostic performance. Emphasising a few key points to help improve your confident in a diagnostic classification. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

This webinar gives an overview of differential diagnoses for canine lymphadenopathy, the technical and diagnostic challenges of lymph node cytology and how to approach further testing in cases of lymphoma. Tips to help avoid non-diagnostic samples and a brief overview of the spectrum of canine lymphoma should equip you to tailor the diagnostic approach for your patients. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

In this webinar Rebekah Mack gives an update on developments in the diagnosis and management of feline CKD. In particular, she focuses on, applying the foundational understanding diagnosis of CKD to clinical practice, recalling secondary diagnostics and understanding the application of IDEXX FGF-23 in early-stage feline CKD. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

Feline oral lesions are usually challenging. Inflammatory and neoplastic oral diseases might be similar at clinical examination: a proliferative lesion not always is a neoplasia. For this reason, for making a definitive diagnosis, and meeting client’s expectation, a holistic approach is advisable. In this presentation, the most common feline oral diseases, with special attention to feline chronic gingivo-stomatitis and proliferative oral diseases, are reviewed. You will understand how important the collaboration between clinician and pathologist is and will learn how clinicians might help pathologists in making a definitive diagnosis. Finally, you will understand why you should take biopsies from feline oral lesions, and when to do that. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.

Antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results are commonly used in practice to help guide antimicrobial therapy. AST results are reported qualitatively (S/I/R) and quantitatively, more commonly expressed as MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration). This webinar explains MICs, what is a clinical breakpoint, how the numbers are obtained and how to interpret these using examples from IDEXX reports. It also discusses why you might not receive an MIC result for every antimicrobial-organism-site combination, limitations of clinical breakpoints and limitations with interpreting these results. The choice of antimicrobial should not be based on the MIC at face value, but should also consider how that value relates to clinical breakpoint, site of infection, patient factors, etc. Difficult cases may still require a discussion with the microbiology lab and specialists, repeat sample testing and expanded antimicrobial testing. This webinar is provided by BSAVA Education Partner IDEXX. A collection of IDEXX ‘topic of the month’ webinars is available here.