The shock index is equal to heart rate divided by systolic arterial blood pressure. It has received a fair amount of attention in the human medicine literature being evaluated for example in haemorrhagic hypovolaemic shock, especially post-traumatic, sepsis and obstetric patients, and for correlation for example to length of hospital stay and mortality. There is very little clinical veterinary information on the shock index.
In this episode I discuss what the shock index is, the parameters that are included in the shock index, the potential value of the shock index, some of the human medicine studies, and the following two canine studies:
Porter A, Rozanski E, Sharp C, et al. Evaluation of the shock index in dogs presenting as emergencies. J Vet Emerg Crit Care 2013. 23(5):538–544.
Peterson KL, Hardy BT, Hall K. Assessment of shock index in healthy dogs and dogs in hemorrhagic shock. J Vet Emerg Crit Care 2013. 23(5):545-550.
 
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The Shock Index in Veterinary Patients

Small talk and jibber jabber about small animal (canine, feline) Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ECC). Hosted by ECC specialist Shailen Jasani, Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical care, episodes cover a variety of topics relating to ECC including literature references and evidence-based medicine considerations. So join us for some ECC small talk, why don't you?

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In this episode I am joined by my friends and colleagues, Stacey Davidson and Ru Clements of VetLed, to discuss the role of Quality Improvement (QI) in improving patient care. We discuss what QI is and why you should be engaged with it. We also talk about the role of human factors and workplace culture in QI. A description of many of the terms used in the episode can be found at the website here. Apologies for the sometimes crackly sound quality on this episode. VetLed Facebook page Veterinary Human Factors private Facebook group started by VetLed

Improving Patient Care (QI)

This episode is focused on sepsis. I also talk about the relevance of the glycocalyx. And emphasise how much extrapolation there is from human medicine to veterinary practice. Topics covered include:  Long-standing sepsis definitions and recently suggested updates History of sepsis management in human medicine; including early-goal directed therapy and Surviving Sepsis Campaign Recent large scale human trials: ProCESS (USA), ARISE (Australasia), ProMISe (UK) Key steps for managing the septic veterinary patient The glycocalyx: what it is, what it does, why it is relevant, implications for practice  Click Here For Your FREE Copy of a Transcript of This Episode Click Here for Show Notes  To find out more about my Small Animal Emergency Medicine App (iOS, Android) click here.

Sepsis and the Glycocalyx

Although feline hypertension may be a rare reason for emergency presentation, it is a condition that most small animal practitioners will have encountered both in routine practice and in critical care patients. This episode is based on the 2017 ISFM* Consensus Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Management of Hypertension in Cats which were recently published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. The episode discusses the following points: [*International Society of Feline Medicine]  Evidence base behind the Guidelines Secondary versus primary hypertension Target organ damage Monitoring and Underdiagnosis Which cats to monitor blood pressure in Importance of ensuring blood pressure is measured as accurately as possible with a reproducible technique White coat hypertension Defining normal blood pressure Criteria for therapeutic intervention and appropriate therapeutic targets What treatment to use Emergency treatment   The episode is based on: ISFM Consensus Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Management of Hypertension in Cats. J Fel Med Surg 2017. 19:288–303. Click Here For Your FREE Copy of a Transcript of This Episode For show notes for this episode, click here.

Feline Hypertension

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Hepatic Encephalopathy in Dogs and Cats

Activated charcoal is a widely used therapy, especially in dogs, to facilitate gastrointestinal decontamination following toxin ingestion. Points covered in this episode include:  A reminder about what activated charcoal is and how it is meant to work Comments about the use of activated charcoal as a therapy contrasting human and veterinary medicine Contraindications and adverse effects Timing of administration  Click Here For Your FREE Copy of a Transcript of This Episode Click Here For SHOW NOTES of This Episode Click Here For Small Animal Emergency Medicine APP

The Shock Index in Veterinary Patients

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