Aspirin is generally used for its ability to reduce fever, pain, and inflammation. What is another reason aspirin is used in veterinary medicine?
Correct Answer: C
Aspirin is occasionally used in veterinary medicine to reduce the risk of future clot formation. Some have used it as an adjunctive treatment in immune-mediated hemolytic anemia or similar diseases, or to prevent thrombi in heart disease. However, clopidogrel is more commonly used in small animals for safety reasons. Few studies exist in support of anticoagulants in animals to date. Aspirin does not have significant therapeutic effects on diuresis, sodium reabsorption, or vasodilation. Note: Aspirin or other NSAIDs should never be used concurrently with steroids in animals due to severe GI ulceration risks. Additionally, cats have slow aspirin metabolism and it should be used with caution in this species.
Question 82
What additive do light-blue top blood collection tubes contain?
Correct Answer: A
Blood collection tubes with light-blue tops contain sodium citrate solution as an anticoagulant. The light-blue top tube is generally used for coagulation studies. Potassium oxalate and sodium fluoride are in gray-top tubes. Lithium heparin is in green-top tubes. EDTA is in lavender-top tubes.
Question 83
When assisting a surgeon in surgery, what part of the scissors should you focus on using when cutting sutures?
Correct Answer: D
When cutting sutures, you want to ensure you are using appropriate delicate scissors, so you cut only what is needed and do not pull too hard on the tissue. Using the tips only, you help to minimize accidental trauma to nearby tissue. Additionally, it allows caution to prevent cutting previously placed sutures. Again, we use the tips, not the entire cutting portion of the blade, to minimize trauma and prevent the removal of unwanted materials. Mayo scissors are dissecting scissors, considered heavy-duty, and primarily cut fascia and denser tissue. Metzenbaum dissecting scissors, unlike Mayos, are fine and used for cutting muscle or other delicate tissue types. They should never be used to cut sutures as this will dull their edges and make soft tissue dissection more traumatic and less precise.
Question 84
When monitoring vital signs, the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia's (ACVAA) Recommendations for Monitoring Anesthetized Veterinary Patients group vital signs into three classifications, including all of the following except:
Correct Answer: B
The ACVAA's group on monitoring anesthesia discusses vital signs as only loosely correlated with anesthetic depth. However, knowing when a patient's heart rate, rhythm, respiratory rate and depth, capillary refill time, temperature, blood pressure, and mucous membrane colors are abnormal may help you determine what surgical plane of anesthesia you should be in time. Various factors affect the surgical plane and the body's response to surgery, anesthesia, pain, and other stimuli. Thus, we cannot solely rely on the classic vital signs to determine if a patient is stable and in the correct surgical anesthetic plane. The ACVAA classifies vital signs into 3 groups. Indicators of circulation. These include: *Heart rate *Blood pressure (Indirect measure via Doppler or oscillometric monitor or directly via an arterial catheter) *Capillary refill time *Mucous membrane color *Pulse strength (determined by palpation of a peripheral artery such as the femoral, carotid, lingual, or in small animals, the dorsal pedal, and in large animals, the facial, digital, dorsal pedal, or auricular arteries) Indicators of oxygenation. These include: *Pulse oximetry *Measuring dissolved blood oxygen via a blood gas *Mucous membrane color, the only physical indicator of oxygenation, will change, but once the change is visibly evident (cyanosis), intervention is often too late, and it is not accurate in the presence of anemia; thus, just a crude indicator of oxygenation. Indicators of ventilation. These include: *Respiratory rate *Respiratory effort *Tidal Volume *Capnography *Blood gas analysis The first of these three is visually monitoring the expansion and contraction of the reservoir bag, unidirectional flow through the valves, via monitoring equipment, or simply by watching the chest wall rise and fall. Ideally, you will have evaluated the animal's normal quality and depth of respiration when awake to determine if there is a significant change from normal once anesthetized. The above three indicators are what the ACVAA classifies as the three key vital sign classifications. However, there are other indicators of anesthetic depth, including reflexes. Reflexes, involuntary, protective responses by the body can further assess anesthetic depth based on the procedure being performed. These include: *Palpebral reflex *Swallowing reflex *Pedal reflex *Corneal reflex *Muscle jaw tone *Eye position and pupil size Most patients' eye position and pupil size for a proper surgical anesthetic plane will have ventromedial deviation. For some horses, the eyes may change from ventromedial to central and revert back. On the other hand, nystagmus often signifies a light plane of anesthesia. Finally, a response to surgical stimuli can also help determine the anesthetic depth, and monitoring key parameters at times when you know there will be an increase in noxious stimuli is paramount and part of your job as a technician monitoring anesthesia and the patient's overall well-being and safety during the procedure.
Question 85
The canine blood group acronym "DEA" stands for which of the following?
Correct Answer: C
Dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) refers to the identification system for canine blood groups. DEA 4 is the most common type and is considered a universal donor. The canine blood group acronym DEA does not represent dog erythrocytic antibody or dog erythropoietin antibody or antigen.
