Please see attached file for information on submitting clinical research abstracts for BSAVA 2010
Deadline for submissions is October 29th
I am please to announce that we have our first mini case report posted on the SAMSOC website :-
Pharyngeal pain and oral ulceration as the presenting signs in 2 cases of canine gastric adenocarcinomaZoe Belshaw, MA Vet MB Cert SAM MRCVSHills' Resident in Small Animal Internal Medicine, QVSH, Cambridge.
To view the case report enter the SAMSOC media section here.
If you would like help loading a case report or details of a research project please feel free to contact me or any other member of the SAMSOC committee
All the best
Ian
Just wanted to say a big thank you to all of the SAMSOC memebers who over the last couple of years have donated old text books. Over the last few months I have received photos and messages via WVS that are copied below. So once again thank you.
For those of you who don't know I collect old veterinary textbooks for the Worldwide Veterinary Service. This is a charity that is involved in a number of project around the world with small and large animals.
WVS send volunteer veterinary surgeons from the UK to help charities around the world in a variety of projects. One of the aims of WVS is to provide those volunteers with educational resources that can assist them in their work. Donated textbooks are used by the vets when treating animal but also to teach locals basic first aid that can help not only with animal welfare but in the case of farm animal their productivity. An simple example is teaching an african farmer how to assess a cows foot when it is lame. Locals being taught simple first aid could them treat their own animal e.g. a stone in a shoe., which previously would have been over looked. For more details of WVS work log on to www.wvs.org.uk
Admittedly old text books gathering dust do make a study look more impressive, but lets be honest how often do we open them!! If you still have old equine text, old cattle text, a copy of slater that you bought when you (briefly ) thought about being a surgeon or even just updated your medical text those books could be invaluable in another place. Donating is a win win situation for all, the books will be greatly received and used ( see below), you get a warm fuzzy feeling and you open up a load of space for that wall mounted flat screen you have always wanted or another DIY project you had in mind.
Joking aside If you do have any textbook ( preferable less than 10-12 years old) that you would like to donate and feel could be useful please contact me by commenting on this new feature below or direct by e mail ( iab@vetspecialists.co.uk)
Some of the messages I have received
The books were sent to veterinarians working at the charities in Cape Town, South Africa.
I have attached a couple of photos to this email We send out donated textbooks to charities where veterinary resources are scarce, so these donations are incredibly valuable to the veterinarians who use them. The photos attached show vets at the Cat Assistance Team (CAT) and TEARS (The Emma Animal Rescue Society), receiving donated veterinary textbooks!
“Our dedicated, hard-working veterinarian, Dr Slyvia Shortreed (in photo) expressed the need to purchase a textbook which would help her in her work. Rita Brock from Cat Assistance Team suggested that we approach Worldwide Veterinary Service. Rita sent an email, and within 10 days, two textbooks entitled Textbook of Veterinary Medicine Volumes 1 & 2 by Ettinger / Feldman were delivered to the astonished Sylvia…. Needless to say Sylvia was delighted with her early Christmas present and most grateful to Worldwide Veterinary Service for their donation”
We also received an email from Rita Brock of CAT which said:
"Compassion knows no boundaries! It gave me enormous pleasure to be a link in this chain and see Slyvia’s delight when John and Janet handed her the books this morning. The Ettinger’s will be put to brilliant use at the TEARS surgery. Many animals will benefit from them in the future. I am extremely grateful for your support – you are making a huge difference to a tiny organisation on the other end of the world. Today confirmed my favourite saying: nothing is impossible.”
This year we also sent some textbooks to PDSA South Africa and received the following response:
“We would like to thank you most sincerely for donating veterinary reference books to us. These books have been given to the hospital staff of the Cape Town PDSA Hospital and will be exceptionally useful in training our Animal Welfare Officers. The staff requested me to cover the books in self adhesive plastic – to ensure they are taken care of – and our staff are working through them on a rotational basis”
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Exocrine Pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) Treatment Study
Aran Mas, P-J.M.Noble , A.J.German
EPI is a common condition in dogs with early response to therapy being critical for positive outcomes (Batchelor et al, 2007). Pancreatic enzyme supplementation is the key component of therapy in EPI. Numerous enzyme preparations exist for use in dogs, some of which are enteric-coated and some uncoated. Although one retrospective study on treatment of EPI suggested a better response with uncoated preparations (Hall et al., 1991), there was no difference in response amongst preparations in a more recent study (Batchelor et al., 2007). However, prospective clinical trials, on treatment of EPI, are lacking.
The Small Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool, is performing the first randomised double-blind trial to examine the effect of enteric coating on efficacy of pancreatic enzyme supplementation in the treatment of canine EPI. We are aiming to recruit dogs recently diagnosed with EPI for inclusion in this trial. Enrolled patients will undergo clinical evaluation, two months of treatment and follow-up advice, all free of charge.
Inclusion/exclusion criteria and contact detail can be found in the SAMSOC Wiki
Other Projects listed in the SAMSOC WIKI
Angie Hibbert at the Feline Centre (Bristol)- Congenital PSS in Birman Cats - DNA Project
Harriet Syme and Colleagues RVC - are recruiting cases for a clinical trail evaluating the use of oral phosphate binders in Feline Chronic Kidney Disease
Stijn Nelson’s- Diabetes Treatment Survey for vets, nurses and owners
Brain Catchpole and Lucy Davidson - are collaborating with a number of centres to investigate the genetic basis of several canine endocrine disorders. They are keen to recruit samples (serum and EDTA blood) from dogs suffering from a number of endocrine disorders
NOTE- If you would like to announce recruitment details for a clinical trial, please logo onto to the SAMSoc Wiki or contact a member of the SAMSOC committee.
The commitee are pleased to announce plans for a CPD travel scholarship award of £250 which will be open to application from SAMSOC members
Details for applications will be announce in 7-10 days.
Other News
The feline acromegaly lecture vote is still ongoing so please log onto the site and have your say and suggest any other lecture topic ideas
Research posts
There have been no recent new posting in the wiki but as a refresher please find a list of all the projects posted to date that are currently recruiting cases.
The Small Animal Medicine Society is pleased to announce the launch of the SAMSOC Travel Scholarship
The scholarship, worth £250, can be awarded to any SAMSOC member undertaking CPD to study a particular aspect of Small Animal Medicine.
Applicants should describe how they would use the award in 300-400 words and are free to choose the topic to be studied. Recipients of the award are required to undertake the CPD within the subsequent 12 months.
Following completion of their trip the winner is required to write a summary article (approx 1000 words) which will be submitted to the Veterinary press for publication and placed on the SAMSOC website.
The award is only open to SAMSOC members.
Applications should be sent to the Ian Battersby ( iab@vetspecialists.co.uk ) to arrive no later than 31st December 2009, the successful applicant will be notified within 6 weeks. The award will be presented at the SAMSOC Meeting on 7th April 2010.
Call for Research Reports / Research Abstracts 2010 ACVIM Forum Scientific Program SUMBISSION DEADLINE: DECEMBER 1, 2009 The ACVIM invites submission of research reports and research abstracts for short communications at the 2010 ACVIM Forum, June 9 - 12, 2010, in Anaheim, California. ACVIM Diplomates, ACVIM Candidates, members of other specialty groups, and those working in areas related to veterinary internal medicine are encouraged to submit. Research reports will be published in the online 2010 ACVIM Forum Proceedings and research abstracts will be published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM) as well as in the online and CD-Rom 2010 ACVIM Forum Proceedings. Abstracts may be submitted for consideration in the research report category (25-minute presentation) if presented by an active researcher the field. PhD candidates, post-doctoral students, and young faculty may be considered, but ACVIM Candidates and other residents may not present in this category. If a research report is not accepted, the submission form will provide an option for you to have the abstract considered for presentation as a research abstract (15-minute presentation) instead. Anyone may submit abstracts to be considered in the research abstract category. ACVIM Candidates may be eligible for award. Awards will be given to selected research abstract presenters (or poster authors) who are active residents in an approved ACVIM training program, or who have completed an ACVIM approved residency within the last 6 months but are not yet ACVIM Board-certified. These abstracts will be judged on the quality of both the research and oral or poster presentation. Two types of research abstract communications will be available: - Oral presentation, strictly limited to 12 minutes with 3 additional minutes for questions. - Posters (4' × 8' in dimension), available for viewing throughout the meeting. During specified periods the posters must be attended by one or more of the authors to answer specific questions. If the poster is entered in the ACVIM resident competition, the author must attend the poster to interact with the judges. All submissions must adhere to the requirements outlined in the ACVIM Guidelines for Research Reports / Research Abstracts. Note: Abstracts that exceed the length limit will not be considered. Excessively poor grammar or clarity of writing may be grounds for abstract rejection. No abstract may be submitted that will have been submitted as a full-length publication before the abstract submission deadline of December 1, 2009. Abstracts that have been published as an abstract and / or presented elsewhere within the 9 months previous to the 2010 ACVIM Forum may be submitted for consideration, but must pass the ACVIM abstract review process as for any abstract. The place of prior publication and / or presentation and copyright permission must be disclosed at the time of abstract submission. Abstracts describing a single case report are unacceptable. Abstracts describing a study using clinical cases that lack confirmed, definitive diagnoses are not acceptable. Abstracts that present data “fractionated” into two or more abstracts when they could be combined into one are discouraged (e.g. regarding test validation, methodology development, or establishing a normal range without application to a population with sufficient power to demonstrate statistical significance). Animals used in the described study are expected to have received humane care, i.e. according to the principles outlined in the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and / or the humane care guidelines found at the author’s institution. Authors must attest to this on the electronic submission form. Deadline: All submissions must be made online using the ACVIM electronic submission form found under the Research Abstracts link at www.ACVIMForum.org. Abstracts must be submitted by 11:59 pm MST, December 1, 2009 to be considered for presentation. The online submission form will be deactivated as of 12:00 am MST, December 2.
SMALL ANIMAL MEDICINE SOCIETY Case Report Competition 2010
Sponsored by Vetoquinol
Do you have an interesting or unusual small animal medicine case that would be suitable to present as an oral abstract. The Small Animal Medicine Society is currently inviting submissions for the case report session during the pre BSAVA satellite meeting on April 7th 2010.
This Competition is open to anyone with an interest in canine or feline medicine. Suitable cases should be have interesting discussion points but need not be so unusual that they would be considered publishable.
Three case reports will be selected by the SAMSOC committee for presentation during the meeting (12 minutes plus 3 minute for questions).
Successful selection entitles the author to free registration for the meeting.
At the end of the session the audience will vote by ballot for their favourite case report. Each presenter will then be awarded a prize which has been kindly donated by Vetoquinol.
1st place £300,
2nd place £150
3rd place £50
If you are interested in submitting a case report please contact Stijn Neilson ( sniessen@RVC.AC.UK )or Sheena Warmen (Sheena.Warman@bristol.ac.uk) for details. Deadline for submission is February 1st 2010
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Do you have an interesting or unusual small animal medicine case/series of cases that would be suitable to present as an oral abstract? The Small Animal Medicine Society (SAMSoc) invites submission of abstracts for short communications at the pre-BSAVA Satellite Meeting on 7th April 2010 in the ICC, Birmingham.
This Competition is open to anyone with an interest in canine or feline medicine. Suitable cases should have interesting discussion points but need not be so unusual that they would be considered publishable.
Abstracts will not be published for this meeting, so cases/case series that may be presented in final form at other meetings in the future may be presented.
Cases/ case series of interest to the group that have been presented at meetings other than major internal medicine meetings (e.g. ACVIM, ECVIM, BSAVA) may be considered.
Abstracts should be written in Microsoft Word using Times Roman 12-point font. The first line should contain the title in all capitals; the second line all author(s); the third the institution(s) the author(s) are affiliated with; followed by the actual abstract starting as a new paragraph. The print must be black, and the abstract should be no more than 500 words in length (including title, author names and institutions). The line spacing should be 1.5.
Deadline for submission of abstracts is 1st February 2010. Notification of acceptance will be provided by 1st March 2010.
Abstracts may be submitted electronically to Sheena.Warman@bristol.ac.uk or sniessen@rvc.ac.uk (Stijn Niessen)
If an abstract is accepted for presentation, the presenter will receive free registration for the SAMSoc satellite meeting.
In addition, like last year, Vetoquinol are kindly sponsoring prizes for the best abstracts. At the end of the session the audience will vote by ballot for their favourite case report (1st place £300, 2nd place £150, 3rd place £50).
We hope many could contribute to this valuable part of our programme, which could also provide a valuable presenting experience to our young and talented colleagues, yet is open to colleagues of all ages and backgrounds!
The exciting programme for our satellite meeting in 2010 is attached! Please register early to avoid disappointment.
Our 2010 satellite meeting will include a session which will be particulalrly useful to candidates preparing a medicine case book.
The meeting remains very good value for money (£65). If you wish, subs for 2010 can be included with your payment for the meeting (Total cost =£90).
Lunch will be included if registration forms and payment for the meeting are received BEFORE March 15th (catering deadline).
Best wishes
Yvonne
Form attached with details of cost and methods of payment
Jonathan Hill (UK Country Manager) said: “I’m delighted to announce that TVM UK is changing its name to Dômes Pharma.
"This will align with the other operating companies within the group.
"TVM UK has always been owned by the Dômes Pharma group, and since the start of our journey in the UK market we have been synonymous with expertise and outstanding levels of customer service in selected speciality segments of the animal health market and this won’t change.”
“Under the Dômes Pharma name we will continue to build and grow on this very strong foundation.
"I’m looking forward to working with the entire Dômes Pharma team as we increase our presence as a leading specialty pharmaceutical company, bringing our ethos to new speciality segments with innovative products and solutions for vets in the UK.
"Dômes Pharma remains a family-owned business, and the culture of the company really reflects this and we live by our values of kindness, boldness and responsibility.” https://www.domespharma.com https://www.tvm-uk.com
15.3% said they had received written abuse and 13.4% had received online abuse.
One in ten (9.87%) had cited receiving generally negative grumbles from their clients and a small percentage (0.8%) said they had noticed negativity from usually supportive clients.
17% reported abuse relating to the CMA across more than one platform.
On the other hand, the survey also revealed that 22.4% had received support in person, almost one in twenty (4.5%) had received online support, and 2.4% cited they had received supportive correspondence.
For the study, 12 month's worth of anonymised data from CVS practices was analysed2.
The study concluded that lower engagement between a practice and its staff or clients, recent parental leave, shorter practice employment tenure, and younger age were all associated with an increased likelihood of support staff resignations.
Lower practice client engagement, which CVS says is a proxy for client satisfaction, was associated with increased odds of support staff resigning3, highlighting the potential impact of client incivility on veterinary colleagues who are typically in customer facing roles.
Reduced employee engagement – measured by a ‘employee net promoter score’ (eNPS), where colleagues rate how likely they would recommend the practice as a good place to work4, also correlated with increased resignations.
Within CVS, eNPS has been demonstrated to be positively correlated with the frequency of line manager discussions.
The current data suggests that consistent measurement of employee engagement in a veterinary setting at regular intervals throughout the year can have benefits for line managers in identifying increases in the risk of resignations and practice attrition, allowing them to take proactive steps to improve engagement.
A recent record of taking parental leave was also associated with greater odds of resigning in the following 12 months than staff who have not taken parental leave in the previous 12 months5.
Qualitative studies in other professions highlight the need for greater flexibility in working hours and focused managerial check-in support.
Therefore ‘return to work’ interventions may present an opportunity to improve retention.
Conversely, the increased length of employment tenure was associated with decreasing odds of support staff resignations6, potentially highlighting the role for long service reward schemes, such as the long service holiday awards CVS introduced a couple of years ago. Whilst employee age was associated with the odds of resignations, with a 1% decrease in the odds of support staff resigning with each additional year of age7.
Imogen Schofield, Director of Clinical Research at CVS, said: “Support staff are integral members of the team.
"These key roles contribute to the efficient and effective functioning of a veterinary practice.
"Despite the important roles of support staff, little research exists on these team members and there is no data describing reasons for their attrition.
“This research was done to help the wider industry to understand how we can reduce support staff resignations.
"It aims to identify demographic, payroll and engagement factors associated with resignations.
"We believe it adds valuable insights to previous survey-based research by organisations such as the British Veterinary Receptionist Association.
“Reflecting on our research from 2021, we have introduced a Zero Tolerance Policy to protect our colleagues against intrusive, offensive, violent or aggressive behaviour from clients.
"We have launched monthly interactive Receptionist Support Sessions, giving receptionists the opportunity to connect with their peer network, share experiences and ideas, and feel supported.
"And we are now focussing on developing our support staff through creating new Receptionist and Patient Care Assistant Career Pathways.”
References
The ‘Ear essentials – a holistic approach to the treatment of canine otitis externa’ webinar will include a presentation by Jonathon Elgie, veterinary technical advisor at Dechra UK and Ireland.
Jonathon will talk delegates through case examples to help them make decisions that can be used in practice and take a clear, practical and holistic approach to treatment.
He will also update vet professionals on Dechra support including the Lifelong Ear Partnership which provides education, tips and assistance to achieve better clinical outcomes and owner satisfaction.
In addition, some delegates at the ‘Break the Pain Conference and Round Table’ event, which took place last month, said that they sometimes assume that farmers are worried about the cost of medication, which discouraged them from talking about it.
Katherine Timms, ruminant veterinary advisor at Ceva Animal Health, which manufactures the NSAID Ketofen, said: “The Stride UK dairy mobility report 2024 revealed that 7% of dairy farmers were not using NSAIDs in any lame cow, yet foot care and lameness management should be included in their herd health plans to meet the Red Tractor Dairy Standards and the standards of their milk buyer.
“Farmers want an easy and cost-effective solution when it comes to offering pain relief to their herds due to other priorities on farm and using NSAIDs strategically have shown a substantial return on investment of £1.66 for every £1 invested1.
"Vets should be leading discussions on pain relief to change their clients’ mindset with the goal of providing gold standard care for the long-term health and welfare of the nation’s herd.”
Sam Bowker, vet surgeon at Blackdown Farm Vets in Devon, who attended the conference, said: “It was a good challenge to us as vets to lead on the use of NSAIDs and pain relief on farm.
"We had a good discussion about protocols we have in the practice, particularly around the use of pain relief when called to assisted calvings and all agreed to use them ongoing.
"The other good reminder was not to assume that farmers won’t want to give pain relief because of cost, and to consider both the welfare and production benefits of their use.”
www.wavegoodbyetopain.co.uk
Reference
Each 'Facing Up To Finances' discussion will include tips from a financial professional and live Q&A from the community.
Hosted by a member of VetYou, the panel will include a financial professional, a guest sharing their experience, and a member of the Veterinary Woman team.
Registrants can pre-submit questions or ask them live, including anonymously.
Editor of Veterinary Woman, Jenny Langridge, said: “Readers of Veterinary Woman ranked ‘finances’ as the top subject they needed to know more about to make the most of future opportunities.
"It’s vital that women in the veterinary professions are able to access trusted resources such as the Facing Up To Finances discussions to help achieve their financial goals.”
Further sessions in October 2024 and January and May 2025 will cover subjects including preparing for the unexpected, financial planning and negotiation around life moves such as family, moves and career shifts, and financial strategies for wellness and insurance.
https://www.subscribepage.com/veterinary_woman_finance_series
Linda gave her address at the Royal Institute of British Architects, venue for the RCVS Annual General Meeting last Friday.
Linda, an equine vet and director of the Wiltshire-based George Veterinary Group, said: “A Royal College and a regulator – it’s a challenge but this combined role is also an opportunity for us.
“In the time I’ve served the RCVS, I’ve definitely learnt some of what it takes to fulfil these roles under the remit of both the Veterinary Surgeons Act and our Royal Charter; to think not just from personal perspective and experience, and also to try to look beyond the needs of the profession today and consider what tomorrow might bring.
“Vets are not just one thing.
"The roles we fill in our working lives are many and varied, and I would argue that the MRCVS is the best placed arbiter of animal health and welfare.
"As such, keeping the MRCVS at the heart of decision-making around how veterinary care and services are provided is essential both to safeguard animal health and welfare and also to retain public trust in our work.
“Cultivating trust is a big part of what many of us do, day in and day out – trust in us from within our teams, from our clients and perhaps even from our patients.
“The RCVS with its two hats does a tough job for both the professions and the public.
"In many cases, the interests of the professions and the public align and there is no conflict.
"Of course, as a regulator where the interests don’t align, the RCVS regulates in the wider public interest and this, too, is a positive for us as a profession.
“Working in a regulated environment is a strength for us.
"The landscape in which we work has changed and the regulatory environment needs to change too. Now we are the other side of the general election, work can continue on legislative reform seeking parliamentary time for a new Veterinary Surgeons Act.”
As the 13th female President of the RCVS, Linda will lead an Officer Team comprising the now Senior Vice-President Dr Sue Paterson FRCVS, Junior Vice-President Professor Tim Parkin FRCVS and Treasurer Dr Tshidi Gardiner MRCVS as well as VN Council Chair Belinda Andrews-Jones RVN, who attends Officer Team meetings as an observer.
The content covers the main points in the WSAVA’s report and offers up-to-date information and advice.
For example, Virbac highlights how the report raises concerns about increasing moves to early neutering, or for neutering to be used as a method of behavioural control, as not all aggressive behaviours are testosterone related.
For that reason, a “castration trial’ with long-acting GnRH agonist is recommended by the report before irreversible orchiectomy is performed.
In addition, there is also evidence that gonadectomy may contribute to the development of some tumours, which is currently under intense investigation, as is the effect of age at castration
Dr Neil Mottram, Technical Manager at Virbac, said: "There is so much new information coming through that vets need to assimilate.
"So the educational reproductive resource is designed to make that journey easier to navigate and provide vets with easy access to up to the minute information on key issues in the report’.
To access the materials visit: https://vet-uk.virbac.com/home/resource-library.html, or contact your territory manager.
The webinar will discuss the importance of self-compassion and provide an overview of Katherine and Sarah’s research into the effectiveness of an online compassion focused therapy (CFT) intervention in improving the mental wellbeing of veterinary professionals.
Katherine and Sarah will also go into more detail about how to get the most out of a CFT course they have created, which will be made freely available for veterinary professionals on the Mind Matters website and on the RCVS YouTube channel .
Katherine said: “Our recent randomised control trial has shown the course to significantly improve resilience and self-compassion and reduce rumination and self-criticism amongst veterinarians.
"Therefore, Sarah and I are delighted to now be disseminating the CFT course freely to the veterinary professions, so that as many people are able to benefit from the evidence-based resource as possible.
“Even though our research was conducted on veterinary surgeons, we hope that the course will be useful to all those working in the veterinary team as the content can be applied in a number of contexts.
“Our webinar will explain more about our research, as well as some of the science behind the effectiveness of the course in a veterinary context.
"So, if you are interested in learning more about how CFT may be able to help you and your team, both in a personal and professional capacity, please do come along.”
Katherine and Sarah’s compassion focused therapy course will be made available on the Mind Matters website in due course. In order to access the online compassion course, individuals are invited to complete a short questionnaire before and after watching one 10-15 minute video each day for 14 days, with the aim of the video intervention being to develop self-compassion skills and reduce self-criticism.
https://vetmindmatters.org/events/
George won the Best Medicine Award for: 'Predictors of clinically significant bleeding in dogs with severe thrombocytopenia'.
Kathryn won the Best Practitioner Award for: 'Reflecting on first opinion clinical improvement project across 39 UK vet practices to support diagnosis and management of OA.'
Sebastian won the Best Surgery Award for: 'Complications and outcomes following surgical management of Achilles Tendon injury'
The Best Student Award was won by Michelle Demkova for: 'Lifting the flap on otitis externa in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK – the VetCompass view'.
In addition, Clare Jones RVN won the Best Poster Award for: 'Confidence with CPR within Veterinary Professionals. Would standardised CPR training help confidence within Veterinary Professionals?'
Submissions for the 2025 Clinical Abstracts will open on 9th September 2024, and will close on 18th October, and those chosen will present their work at BSAVA Congress 2025, in Manchester on 20th – 22nd March.
https://www.bsavacongress.com/register-interest