AD146 – Advance25 – Complex Medicine for Advanced Practitioners 2

Learn in your own time with this fully flexible Advance25 Course.

Enjoy unlimited access to your course materials for a full 12 months. Ask all the questions you like on the discussion forum – there are no stupid questions! Get the help you need to deal effectively with your complex small animal medicine patients.

Complete the course and get your CPD / CE Certificate for 25 Hours of learning.

Use your new knowledge and skills straight away in your practice.
Revisit your course materials at any time during your 12 months’ access to refresh your knowledge whenever you have a relevant patient.

Session 1: Immune mediated and infectious disease

Session A: Approach to pyrexia of unknown origin

Pyrexia of unknown origin is a common presentation in veterinary patients. This can be indicative of anything from a cat bite abscess to a complex immune mediated disease. A logical approach to these challenging cases is essential to ensure that appropriate treatment is instigated. Anna will go through the logical diagnostic steps in such cases in order to achieve a final diagnosis (although there are always cases where we do not find the cause despite a very thorough search!)

Session B: Brucella. Why do I need to be concerned?

Over the past 12-24 months, there has been a huge amount of concern raised in the veterinary press about Brucella. Why is this and should you be worried? What is Brucella? Which animals should you test and how should you test them? What are the human health and safety concerns? What do you do if you diagnose a patient with Brucella? This session will answer the most commonly asked questions about Brucella and guide you through what to do with such cases.

Session 2: Gastroenterology

Session A: The approach to the canine patient with acute gastrointestinal signs

Acute gastrointestinal signs are one of the most common reasons dogs are presented to their vet. These cases present with a spectrum of clinical signs from systemically well but with large intestinal diarrhoea to collapsed and hypoglycaemic secondary to acute haemorrhagic gastroenteritis. Katherine will discuss the potential aetiologies of these signs, what diagnostics and treatment we should contemplate and when to consider ‘acute-on-chronic’ disease.

Session B: Canine Parvovirus; a new update on an old foe

Parvovirus has been routinely vaccinated against in the UK dog population since the 1970s, however it is far from an eradicated disease. Historically a malady associated with a near 100% mortality rate, our ability to treat this disease has vastly improved leading to significantly improved survival rates. Katherine will discuss diagnosis, treatment (including newer ideas such as faecal matter transplant and early enteral nutrition) and vaccination.

Session 3: Hepatobiliary disease

Session A: Gallbladder disease

When should I worry about gallbladder sludge? Is bactibilia always clinically important? How do I know if this patient has a bile duct obstruction? What should I do if I think my patient has a forming gallbladder mucocele? Katherine will attempt to answer these questions while we discuss diagnosis and management of some of the most commonly diagnosed gallbladder diseases in cats and dogs.

Session B: Acute hepatopathies; a case-based approach to these challenging cases

Acute hepatopathies can be highly demanding cases to manage, especially when an inciting cause of their disease cannot be identified. Katherine will use cases to discuss how to approach these often very sick patients, what differentials should be on the list, the diagnostic tests to consider (including the role of liver biopsy) and the treatment options we have available.

Session 4: Haematology

Session A: Polycythaemia. The PCV is high – should I worry and what should I do?

Polycythaemia can be relative in the case of a dehydrated patient. However, we can also see absolute polycythaemia, which is a relatively uncommon phenomenon where there is a true increase in red blood cell number. This can cause variable and often vague clinical signs. Anna will explain the pathophysiology of polycythaemia, the different causes and potential treatment options for this interesting condition.

Session B: Hypercoagulability and use of antithrombotic agents in veterinary patients

This session will focus on the use of antithrombotic agents in veterinary patients. What conditions are associated with increased risk of thrombotic complications? When should we start (and stop) antithrombotic therapy? Which drugs, or combinations or drugs should we consider for which conditions?

Session 5: Endocrinology 1

Session A: Interpreting endocrine testing and the Diagnosis of Hypothyroidism in Dogs

Diagnosis of endocrine disease is often complex and is rarely black and white. Part of diagnosis in most cases with be specific testing, however this can be very challenging to interpret reliably. This lecture focuses on how to preform and interpret endocrine testing in order to maximise your certainty and accuracy in endocrine diagnosis, utilising specific examples of situations and diseases to illustrate. Thyroid disease particularly is dogs is both over and under diagnosed. Due to the effect of other conditions on measurable thyroid markers, testing is fraught with complication and misinterpretation. This lecture seeks to understand both the optimal time for thyroid testing, the appropriate tests for a confident diagnosis and the challenges and pitfalls with confirming clinically relevant abnormalities.

Session B: The Future of Feline Diabetes: The Gliflozins

Treatment and management of feline diabetes has remained remarkably similar for well over three decades, however the options for management of this disease are shortly to undego a huge change. A new class of drugs is becoming available that seek to replace insulin, and will offer an injection-free option for a very select group of cats. However, due to significant risks of complications, this medication will also have the potential to create hitherto unseen challenges in patients, requiring acute awareness and prompt action if and when they occur.

Session 6: Endocrinology 2

Session A: Cushing’s Syndrome and Hypercortisolism: addressing the perennial uncertainties in diagnosis, treatment and monitoring

Hypercortisolism (Cushing’s disease; Hyperadrenocorticism) is a notoriously challenging disease to diagnose, treat effectively and monitor. This lecture focusses on improving diagnostic security, optimal treatment strategies and effecting monitoring for patients on treatment in both an optimal and practical sense.

Session B: Hypercalcaemia and diseases of the parathyroid gland

This lecture will briefly review the causes and consequences of hypercalcaemia, followed by an in-depth approach to both hyperparathyroidism and hypoparathyroidism, including diagnosis, acute stabilisation and chronic management.

What do Vets Say About this Course?

“Excellent content, very well presented and set at a suitable level for advanced practitioners. Very useful forum to discuss the topics and cases. Thoroughly enjoyable and lots of information to use in practice.  Very useful insight into Brucella and how cases are detected and managed. Very useful, with detailed up to date information which will make significant improvements to managing such cases in practice.”

Rachel Church MRCVS

“Very interesting topics- first cpd course in a long time in which I feel like I have learnt something new each week! Info about upcoming diabetes treatments in cats most interesting. This course is appropriate for everyday use- have already had success with a frustrating chronic diarrhoea dog by starting on human probiotics due to this course.”

Tom Coleman MRCVS

“Really enjoyable course. Lots of great tips and it will change the way I treat and investigate cases.”

Kirsty Warren MRCVS

“Feline diabetes, thyroid and hypothyroid diseases lectures were great! All subjects have been discussed with real day to day practice approach.”

Alessandra Baroni MRCVS

“The use of SGLT2 inhibitors to treat feline diabetes mellitus will help with my work in practice, with the excellent caveats provided. Extremely useful to look at new thoughts and perspectives on conditions we have been treating for some time.”

Mark Fosbery MRCVS

“Most useful- Being able to do it on my own timescale!
Learning about SGLT2 inhibitors from a source who wasn’t the drug rep. I feel much more up to date on working up and treating various conditions.”

Jennifer Scott MRCVS

“All the sessions were useful, particularly the Cushings one. New pieces of information and will now switch from ACTH stimulation tests to low dose dex suppression tests.”

Helen Avison MRCVS

“Most useful- The new information eg on gliflozins etc. What has changed in last few years since I completed cert and gained AP status. This course has made sure my knowledge is up to date in a broad range of areas. Yes I used the forum- and this also meant I could count the course towards the external CPD requirement for advanced practitioners which requires direct engagement with colleagues outside of your workplace.”

Jennifer Boyd MRCVS

Tutors

Anna Threlfall BVSc MVetMed DipACVIM DipECVIM-Ca MRCVS RCVS. EBVS and American Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine

Katherine Clarke BVSc BSAVA PGCertSAM MRCVS DipECVIM CA. EBVS European Specialists in Small Animal Internal Medicine

Daniel Thompson MA VetMB PgCert VPS CertAVP MRCVS DipECVIM-CA. EBVS European Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine

Any Questions? Call us now on 0151 328 0444