Feedback Form Responses pre-BSAVA Satellite Meeting SAMSOC 2009
Below you will find feedback from people attending the 2009 SAMSOC satellite meeting. You'll find that the great majority of people had a great day. We hope to use positive and negative comments to make the 2010 meeting even more worthwhile! Do you still want to provide feedback? (even if you did not attend, i.e. why not?), please drop a line on: sniessen@rvc.ac.uk or simply respond to this news item on this website, by hitting the reply button.
Regards,
SAMSOC Programme Committee
Administration/facilities: Responses (%)
Registration procedure
1. Poor 0 0%
2. Adequate 0 0%
3. Good 7/22 32%
4. Excellent 15/22 68%
Lecture room facilities
2. Adequate 5/22 23%
3. Good 13/22 59%
4. Excellent 4/22 18%
Comments: too cold (6/22), noisy at times (1/22), chairs too close to screen (1/22), liked set-up with tables more (1/22)
Quality and quantity of refreshments
2. Adequate 1/22 4.5%
3. Good 11/22 50%
4. Excellent 9/22 41%
Comments: nice biscuits (1/22); excellent lunch (1/22), cold tea (1/22)
Value for money
3. Good 9/22 41%
4. Excellent 13/22 59%
Programme/lectures
1. Thoracic CT
a. Delivery
i. Poor 0 0%
ii. Adequate 0 0%
iii. Good 8/22 36%
iv. Excellent 13/22 59%
b. Content
iii. Good 7/22 32%
iv. Excellent 14/22 64%
c. Notes
ii. Adequate 1/22 5%
iii. Good 10/22 45%
iv. Excellent 9/22 41%
d. Good choice for program?
Comments: 1/22: very educational and helpful to have images
2. Thoracoscopy for medics
iii. Good 9/22 41%
iii. Good 11/22 50%
iv. Excellent 10/22 45%
iii. Good 17/22 77%
iv. Excellent 4/22 18%
ii. Adequate 6/22` 27%
iv. Excellent 8/22 36%
Comments: 1/22 excellent images of thoracoscopy
3. Case reports
iii. Good 15/22 68%
iii. Good 14/22 64%
i. Poor n/a
ii. Adequate n/a
iii. Good n/a
iv. Excellent n/a
Comments: 1/22: would like notes for this as well
iv. Excellent 10/22 44%
4. Current management of diabetes mellitus in people
ii. Adequate 2/22 9%
iii. Good 12/22 55%
iv. Excellent 7/22 32%
Comments: 8/22: notes poor since missing
iv. Excellent 11/22 50%
Comments: 1/22: very interesting
5. A logical approach to changed mental status
iii. Good 1/22 5%
iv. Excellent 20/22 91%
iii. Good 2/22 9%
iv. Excellent 19/22 86%
iii. Good 4/22 18%
iv. Excellent 15/22 68%
iii. Good 3/22 14%
iv. Excellent 18/22 82%
Comments: 1/22: Really excellent; 1/22: excellent presentation and case studies
6. Interpretation of bone marrow cytology
ii. Adequate 7/22 32%
iv. Excellent 12/22 55%
ii. Adequate 5/22 23%
ii. Adequate 3/22 14%
iv. Excellent 6/22 27%
Comments: 1/22: very entertaining!
Comments: 1/22: very entertaining, excellent pictures of cytology; very helpful; 1/22: good choice for program but turned into a list
General individual comments
1. I wonder if too many topics were quite specialist this year; ie maybe great for us academics but not so attractive for practitioners?
2. Later start (10am – or even 9.30am); reduced registration fees for interns/residents; no lunch in place of reduced rate
3. Really liked the human presentations; please continue with this tradition
4. Might be worth concentrating on 1 or 2 themes for the day? Consider shorter talks? 45 minutes long enough per speaker?
5. Enjoy the human presentation and comparative aspect – please continue this tradition! Excellent day – thank you!
6. Superb meeting, all the practical tips and information were really useful and the speakers were all excellent – more of the same standard next year please!
7. Appropriately pitched for medicine certificate level, would be great to have a specialist day.
8. Initially dubious about the heterogeneous nature of the lectures but actually it worked very well. The case reports are a very good thing – enjoyable to give residents a forum to present cases.
Stijn Niessen 26 June 2009
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”
.
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
The company says the two main benefits of the liquid formulation are precise dosing and ease of administration.
Vetmedin oral solution comes with a kg-bodyweight calibrated syringe to make it easy to give the preferred dose of 0.25 mg/kg twice daily to the nearest 0.5 kg bodyweight.
The maximum syringe volume is for a 12 kg dog.
The solution has a sweet taste to make it palatable and Boehringer says it is also ideal for dogs that need dental work but require treatment for their heart disease before general anaesthesia.
These dogs might struggle to eat chewable tablets due to oral discomfort, so a liquid treatment might be a better option.
The company highlights the EPIC1 and PROTECT2 studies which showed that Vetmedin delays the onset of CHF for dogs in the asymptomatic stage of heart disease and improves both the quality and length of life for dogs with MVD and DCM.
Vetmedin oral solution comes as a 50 ml bottle (each bottle lasts a 5 kg dog approximately 30 days), doesn't need to be refrigerated, has an 8-week shelf life once opened, and a 2-year shelf life as packaged.
VetMedin oral solution is now available to order from wholesalers.
References
Krka says Arocenia provides fast, broad-spectrum anti-emetic efficacy with a 24-hour duration of action following a single daily dose.
It can be administered intravenously or subcutaneously and is supplied in 20 ml multi-dose vials, allowing up to 40 punctures per vial and a 60-day open vial shelf life.
Renzo Di Florio, Krka’s Technical Veterinary Adviser, commented “Vomiting is one of the most common presenting signs in small animal practice, and maropitant is a medication you’ll find on just about every vet’s dispensary shelf. With Arocenia, we’re adding a cost-effective formulation to the available options.”
https://www.krka.co.uk//products/our-products/animal-health/arocenia-10mgml-solution-for-injection
The BSAVA says there unique opportunities and risks to the use of antibiotics in rabbits.
For example, antibiotic combination therapy, which is discouraged in dogs and cats, can be safe and effective in this species.
Also, careful selection of appropriate antibiotics, in terms of active substance, dose and route of administration, is crucial when treating rabbits due to the risk of enterotoxaemia. The new guide gives advice on diagnosing bacterial infections, likely causal organisms and appropriate antibiotic and non-antibiotic management.
The guide covers dacryocystitis, ear disease, facial abscesses, enteritis, urinary tract disease, and upper and lower respiratory tract disease. John Chitty, one of the authors, said: “Choosing an antibiotic for rabbits is not simple.
"Their diseases do not necessarily mirror those of dogs and cats, and they do have gut sensitivities to certain antimicrobials.
"However, like dogs and cats, there are situations where antibiotics are not needed where we once thought they were.
"This is especially important in reducing antibiotic usage in rabbits and, of course, in reducing use of critically important antibiotics in them as well.
"We hope this guide will help practitioners to see when antibiosis is needed, what choices are available and how to sample and select the most appropriate drug if needed.” The new guide is free to all and can be accessed at bsavalibrary.com/protectme.
UK Pet Food says that with pet owners increasingly turning to their vets for nutrition guidance, this course is designed to equip veterinary teams with the knowledge and confidence to offer clear, evidence-based advice.
The course offers 20 hours of CPD comprised of on-demand modules and live Q&A sessions covering pet food formats, clinical nutrition, pet obesity, regulatory frameworks, sustainability, and client communication.
There'll be contributions from independent speakers and chairs from leading academics, veterinary nutritionists, and industry experts
Sarah Hormozi, Head of Science & Education at UK Pet Food, said: “This course is about helping veterinary professionals critically evaluate the science behind pet nutrition.
“We’ve worked with board-certified veterinary nutritionists, academics, industry experts, and veterinary associations to develop a resource that supports everyday clinical conversation - giving the veterinary community practical tools and confidence to talk about pet food and nutrition with clarity and credibility.”
There are early bird tickets for £90 if you book by 15th August 2025.
https://thewebinarvet.com/events/uk-pet-food-2025
https://www.ukpetfood.org
Photo: www.depositphotos.com
The merger brings together Improve International’s global reach and postgraduate qualification programmes with Central CPD’s practitioner-led Continuing Professional Development training and digital learning infrastructure.
Improve says the merger will better position the two companies to meet the growing and evolving needs of the profession.
However, the veterinary training marketplace has been hit recently by news that IVC Evidensia has opened two in-house training centres, one in Scotland and one in the Midlands, perhaps precipitating some consolidation, especially since IVC has announced plans to offer CPD to the wider profession later this year.
Jonathan Hill, UK country manager at Dômes Pharma said: "Dômes Pharma is really excited to be extending our pet anxiety range to help vets manage cases in this complex area.
https://domespharma.co.uk/products/fluoxevet/
In the webinar, which is sponsored by Horiba, Ian will present an update on new exotic parasite infections and distribution across the UK and Europe, and what this means for pets, livestock and the people that care for them.
“New Exotic Parasites – Worming Their Way In?” is suitable for vets, nurses, students and veterinary care assistants.
https://horiba.link/4h2.
The solution is designed to streamline Animal Health and Welfare Pathway (AHWP) reviews, from on-farm sampling through to laboratory results, reporting, vet attestation and DEFRA compliance, by integrating faecal egg count testing at Sandhill Laboratories with the VetDX app,
VetDX says that by integrating every stage of the review process into a single digital workflow, the VetDX platform allows practices to carry out efficient, compliant visits with a reduced administrative burden.
Laura Eden MRCVS (pictured), farm animal vet at Bishopton Vets said: “What’s really improved the process for us is how straightforward it is to submit samples and how quickly we get results back from Sandhill.
"It takes a lot of the hassle out of coordinating AHWP visits and lets us focus on the clinical side.”
Rachel Kirkby MRCVS, Business Development Director at VetDX, said: “The AHWP is a real opportunity to tackle issues like anthelmintic resistance in a structured, funded way - but only if the process is workable on the ground.
"That’s why we’ve built the platform to fit naturally into how vets carry out these visits, supporting accurate on-farm data capture with features like in-app QR code scanning.
"It means lab results are securely linked to the right animals or groups, without the risk of transcription errors or lost paperwork.”
https://vetdxs.com
The new resource is designed to help dog owners understand the risks of cancer, recognise the importance of early detection, and learn how HT Vista’s cancer detection device supports veterinary teams in screening suspicious masses.
It includes guidance on the early warning signs of cancer in dogs and explains how acting quickly can improve outcomes.
Dr Liron Levy-Hirsch, Veterinary Surgeon and Managing Director at HT Vista said: “We believe informed pet owners are key to driving earlier diagnosis.
"This new page is all about bridging the gap between innovative veterinary technology and the people it’s designed to support.
"By empowering pet owners with clear and trustworthy information, we hope to strengthen understanding of the diagnostic process, support clinical decision-making, and ultimately help more dogs receive timely treatment.”
www.ht-vet.com/petowners