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CLINICAL VETERINARY ADVISOR
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Dogs and Cats
To order this title, and for more information, click here
By
Etienne Cote, DVM, DACVIM(Cardiology and Small Animal Internal Medicine), Assistant Professor, Department of Companion Animals, Atlantic Veterinary
College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada
Reviews
That this comprehensive volume contains only 14 European residents amongst
its total of 390 contributors and editors should not deter
Europeans from
purchasing it. The book, written in English, contains six separate but
associated sections but also, after purchase,
allows access to a linked
companion website. One must understand that its range is limited to two
species and does not attempt
to cover the full range of species typically
seen nowadays in companion animal practice.
The first section, of over 1100 pages,
would make a textbook in itself and
is entitled 'Diseases and Disorders'. Your reviewer consulted a number of
subjects of particular
interest to himself and believes that each provided
an excellent and thorough overview of the subject, considering aetiology,
diagnosis,
differentials, therapy and prognosis along with what the authors
term 'Pearls and Considerations'.
The second section of some
150 pages entitled 'Procedures and Techniques'
outlines a wide range of techniques. The third section covering
differential diagnosis
offers comprehensive lists which might confuse the
inexperienced but might equally offer useful information to the experienced
clinician
in dealing with refractive cases.
The fourth section, on laboratory tests, provides a good but concise
analysis of some 150
tests and the significance of abnormal results but
also indicates which further tests might be of value in aiding diagnosis.
The
fifth section contains 91 algorithms for common conditions. This section
would be good for the inexperienced but would also assist
the more
experienced when their habitual diagnostic or therapeutic pathways have
failed to produce resolution.
The final
section, a drug formulary, is mostly relevant to North America.
However it should be valid as a source of information to supplement
those
formularies available in Europe. The index appears to be comprehensive and
comprises 43 pages. Illustrations are in black
and white and, mostly, are of
good quality. In all but the sixth section, the author of each individual
item is identified.
The
website which I, as a technophobe, found easy to access using the PIN
printed in the book's frontispiece, reproduces all of the printed
text and
some which is not present in the printed version. The major benefits of this
website are downloadable Client Information
Sheets (in English and Spanish)
and the ability to reproduce the 'Procedures and Techniques' illustrations;
these might be used
for reference but also to assist in explanations to
clients of radiographs or of techniques proposed to be applied to patients.
The
book does not claim to be an exhaustive study of any particular
condition. It does however, in my opinion, provide more than just
the basic
information. Its value seems to be particularly relevant to the
inexperienced. Students could find it useful but its
main application would
seem to be to the recent graduate or to those returning to the profession
after a career-break, even if
only to enable them to verify those decisions
already taken during consultations. It does appear to merit a place in the
typical
practice library.
Reviewed by Freddie J. Marshall BVMS MRCVS (UK), for EJCAP
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