Meet our speaker: David Church
David is currently Professor of Small Animal Studies at the Royal Veterinary College. He has spent over 30 years in small animal specialist practices and is the author of over 180 peer-reviewed publications on companion animal endocrinology and small animal medicine. He has been a long standing advocate of the benefits of veterinarians developing a logical approach to clinical reasoning to complement their pattern recognition skills. As a co-founder of VetCompass, he is also passionate about developing mechanisms to define and understand the disorders encountered in general practice and how to optimise their management.
You can catch up on Professor Church's most recent presentations now on Vet Show Academy.
Considerations Around Managing you Diabetic Patient in 2020
Recent evidence from general practice indicates that approximately 33% of diabetic patients are dead within one year of diagnosis. Yes, you read that correctly – 33%!!
This lecture will focus on the reasons behind these disturbing figures and in particular the increasing recognition of the importance of a triangulated effort between the members of the veterinary team, the owner, and the patient in achieving a successful outcome of standard “diabetics”. There will also be discussion around achieving a balance between some level of standardization and the need for individual flexibility.
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Interpreting the Numbers: What Do Changes in Calcium, Sodium or Potassium Really Mean?
Abnormal levels of serum electrolytes are commonly encountered abnormalities which may be vitally important in the investigation of a range of disorders. On occasions they may also indicate life-threatening problems that need to be corrected rapidly but also safely. The presentation will evaluate the clinical significance of changes in serum calcium and the value of serum phosphate in understanding the underlying explanations. The impact and reasons for hyponatremia and changes in serum potassium will also be explored along with considerations around optimal management strategies for correcting these problems.
Internal Medicine
- Understand there are two basic reasons for a patient to be hypercalcemic - upregulation of PTH production and non-PTH based explanations which include but are not limited too excess exposure to endogenous and exogenous vitamin D analogues.
- Recognise the value of serum phosphate in determining whether abnormal PTH production is likely to be causing hyper or hypocalcemia
- Understand the impact of hyponatremia on fluid balance and the inherent interactions between sodium levels and body water
- Recognise the disparity between serum potassium levels and the levels of whole body potassium and how these differences need to be evaluated and managed
The Difficult Diabetic - What Makes Them Difficult And What Can You Do?
Successful management of our diabetic patient requires a significant degree of interaction between the owner and the patient. Given the potential variations in the owner’s circumstances and needs, focusing on a set of broad principles without regressing to rigid protocols is likely to be the most successful approach to managing this complex disease. It is also important to recognise the impact of co-morbidities and other patient factors on successful diabetic management and these factors will be discussed with specific emphasis on hyperadrenocorticism and hypersomatotrophism.