Arterial blood gas: Why? Where? How? & What does it tell you (for Nurses)
(incl. tax)
Have you ever been struggling madly with a pulse oximeter in a tachypneic dog or cat, looking for a reliable pulse waveform or an SpO2 number that looks believable? Positioning it, repositioning it, wetting the lip/tongue to see if it might read better, searching everywhere for an area that isn’t too pigmented, trying not to get bitten, wondering if the number that flashed on the screen for a millisecond was even believable? Have you ever wondered if there might be a better way to determine if a patient is truly oxygen-dependent?
This webinar is all about arterial blood gasses: Why to collect them, where to collect them, how to collect them including how to handle the sample to ensure accurate results, and what the results tell you about your patient’s lung function. Additionally, we will discuss the different processes that cause hypoxaemia in dogs and cats.
The Australian Veterinary Nurse and Technician (AVNAT) Regulatory Council has allocated (1) AVNAT CPD point to this continuing education activity.
Recording from 25 January 2024
Melissa Claus, DVM, Diplomate ACVECC
I’ve been involved in the veterinary industry for most of my life, first as a vet nurse and later as a veterinarian. I became a boarded specialist in Emergency and Critical Care in 2010. Shortly thereafter, I left the United States for Australia to begin a career in academia at Murdoch University to fulfill my passion for teaching veterinary students, nurses, residents, and interns. Since 2020, I have been a part time teleconsultant for VetCT, where I am part of a global support network of specialists who provide clinical guidance to veterinarians with challenging cases. In 2022, I left academia and joined a private practice specialty hospital in Perth, Australia, where I have been building a brand new small animal ECC service. My primary research interests are circulatory shock and transfusion medicine. Other interests include fluid balance, electrolytes, acid-base, pulmonary physiology, physiology of fever, and extracorporeal therapies.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and 3 kiddos, and small menagerie of 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 rabbit, 1 goat, and 6 chooks.
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