The Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP)
The Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP) is the BSAVA's monthly scientific journal, featuring original, peer-reviewed articles, case reports and other scientific and educational information from around the world. The aim of JSAP is to facilitate the dissemination and implementation of new ideas and techniques relating to clinical veterinary practice, and ultimately to promote best practice.
JSAP is provided to BSAVA members as part of their membership benefits. Members - to access JSAP, log in then click on the 'read latest issues' button at the bottom of the page.
You can search for JSAP articles from within the BSAVA Library by clicking on the JSAP tab from the search results page. If you are a BSAVA member and already logged in, you can click through from the search results to access the full article.
You can view a selection of infographics which give a summary of JSAP papers on a variety of topics here.
January issue - in JSAP this month
Although peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) are used daily in veterinary practice, over a quarter of PIVCs placed in dogs and cats result in complications, with the most common being limb swelling/suspected phlebitis (in 12% of PIVCs) and PIVC dislodgement/patient interference (in 8%), in this study. Increased complication risk was associated with more than one attempt to place the PIVC, being a second or subsequent PIVC, irregular flushing intervals, and flushing with compound sodium lactate. This highlights the importance of hand hygiene before PIVC placement, adequate skin preparation with a minimum 2% chlorhexidine, and the need to be vigilant when monitoring a patient with a PIVC, especially those with risk factors that may heighten the complication risk.
December issue - in JSAP this month
Manual estimation of neutrophil count resulted in neutropenic samples being misclassified in this study, therefore a full automated differential cell count is advised for determining neutrophil counts prior to chemotherapy. In this study, twenty canine blood smears with known automated neutrophil counts between 1.00 × 109/L and 3.00 × 109/L were reviewed by two internal medicine clinicians and a cut-off value for a manual neutrophil count determined. By the automated analyser, neutropenia was detected in 16 of 183 (9%) blood samples. Using manual estimation, 14-16% of non-neutropenic dogs were incorrectly classed as neutropenic, which would have led to an unnecessary treatment delay. Overall, manual estimation resulted in up to 31% of neutropenic samples being incorrectly classified, therefore this rapid manual technique can’t be recommended and an automated differential cell count is advised to detect neutropenia.
November issue - in JSAP this month
Standard tests of haemostasis, such as prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and D-dimers, do not effectively predict hypercoagulable states in sick dogs, according to a study in this month’s JSAP. The study included 71 dogs, of which 36 were hypercoagulable and 35 were normocoagulable on thromboelastography (TEG), and compared the efficacy in identifying hypercoagulable states. PT, aPTT and D-dimers showed no significant correlation with hypercoagulability as defined by TEG, and failed to predict elevated thromboelastographic maximum amplitude. An increased platelet count and packed red blood cell volume were significantly associated with hypercoagulability, suggesting that these parameters might be more reliable indicators of hypercoagulable states. These findings particularly have implications for veterinary practitioners without access to advanced viscoelastic testing methods.
You must be logged in and a BSAVA member (excluding veterinary nurse student member) to use the links.
A collection of JSAP reviews for primary care practice is freely available to all.
If you are not a member of BSAVA and wish to receive JSAP, you can either become a member or subscribe to the journal via our publisher, Wiley.