What is the best way to clean your OR?April 27, 2020Cleaning is probably the least glamorous thing that happens in an operating room. Yet, it is critically important to do it properly to ensure asepsis and the success of your surgeries.
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Avoid getting in trouble with heating devicesMarch 11, 2020Not only can iatrogenic burn wounds cause significant harm to patients (including death), they also can seriously damage a practitioner’s reputation.
How should you handle lumps and bumps?February 19, 2020A mass is an extremely common finding in daily practice, yet it often presents a challenge. Should it be removed? Tested? Ignored?
The art and science of liver biopsiesJanuary 8, 2020Liver biopsies are an underused technique in the veterinary field. Indications for a liver biopsy include suspected diffuse hepatic disease, masses, icterus, ascites, and more.
Declawing banned in St. LouisDecember 16, 2019St. Louis, Mo., is officially the first Midwestern city to ban the declawing of cats.
Understanding anesthesia in canine dentistryOctober 17, 2019They also represent a source of fear and concern for pet owners—witness the burgeoning anesthesia-free dental cleaning services that have become popular.
Decreasing anesthetic riskSeptember 13, 2019Knowing how to recognize risk and respond appropriately can greatly decrease the likelihood of anesthesia-related complications.
Understanding capnography and anesthesiaSeptember 5, 2019Capnography, which is the measurement of carbon dioxide in a patient’s breath, provides a good picture of the respiratory process.
Using feeding tubes in general practiceAugust 15, 2019Nutrition is quite often overlooked in hospitalized patients, which depending on what the patient is being treated for, can worsen the situation.
Four bold questions about hand asepsisMay 24, 2019Hand asepsis is one of the most critical components of surgical asepsis to lower the risk of nosocomial diseases. In this column, we answer four critical and bold questions related to hand asepsis. Could you lose your driver's license by scrubbing in? With the emergence of alcohol-based hand-rub solutions (ABHRS), you may be concerned that with repeated use, you could have enough alcohol in your bloodstream to lose your driver's license. Alcohol is indeed absorbed through the skin, and you inhale plenty of it while scrubbing (or "rubbing"). So could a breathalyzer test be positive? A 2006 Australian study1 looked at 20 health-care workers and their use of ABHRS repeatedly over a short period of time: 30 applications in an hour! Then serum and breath ethanol and isopropanol absorption were assessed. Traces of ethanol were detectable in the breath of 30 percent of subjects at one to two minutes after application and in the serum of 10 percent of them at five to seven minutes postexposure. Serum isopropanol levels were undetectable at all time points. Even though ethanol did have a positive result, whether through cutaneous absorption or inhalation of fumes, neither level would be considered positive during a police-issued …
