Awanui Veterinary

10/12/2024

DID YOU KNOW WE ARE NOW DOING SDMA TESTING??!!

If you missed our announcement on November 25, it's time to catch up! After a lot of validation work we are very excited to introduce Awanui Veterinary’s new assay for SDMA, an important advancement in assessing renal function in dogs and cats.

𝑨𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅 10% 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚!

For full details of this exciting new test, please visit our website here: https://www.awanuivets.co.nz/sdma/

08/12/2024

𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐒 & 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 🎅

Please find our opening hours over the festive season below. All laboratories will resume normal working hours from Friday 3 January.

> 23 - 24 December: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻
> 25 - 26 December: 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱
> 27 - 28 December: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻*
> 30 - 31 December: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻
> 1 - 2 January: 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱
> 3 - 4 January: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻

*𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: Due to a campus-wide electrical shutdown over the Christmas period, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟮𝟳-𝟮𝟴 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, as well as the statutory holidays.

Please note that if you're placing consumable orders online before Christmas, delivery times may be longer than usual due to the higher volume of shipments nationwide. Orders made during the Christmas and New Year period may also experience delays in processing because of public holidays and reduced staffing levels. 🎄

05/12/2024

FOR A BIT OF A LAUGH!

Cat first-world problems!

03/12/2024

DOWN THE SCOPE: ANSWER

No cheating! If you haven't seen our post from Monday, go check it out now before reading any further 🙃

DIAGNOSIS:

Likely actinomycosis. No sample was sent for culture, but modified ZN stain (attached) was negative, which rules out Nocardia.

01/12/2024

Some reminders for your farming clients this month . . .

Here’s our December parasite management tips for sheep.

📅 View a digital copy of the 2024 Parasite Management Calendar here: https://beeflambnz.com/2024calendar

01/12/2024

DOWN THE SCOPE

A 12 yo female Labrador present with an encapsulated lump on tail. The lump was removed and sent to the lab for histology. This is what we saw H&E stain and Gram stain respectively.

What's up?

(Answer will be posted on Wednesday)

28/11/2024

FRIDAY FEEL GOOD

🐈 🧡

27/11/2024

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐔𝐏 𝐃𝐎𝐂? 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑

No cheating! If you haven't seen our post from Wednesday, go check it out now before reading any further 🙃

DIAGNOSIS:

Large cell lymphoma.

DISCUSSION:
Read the full case write-up here: https://www.awanuivets.co.nz/of-grave-concern/

26/11/2024

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐔𝐏 𝐃𝐎𝐂?

A 10-yo MN DSH presented at his local vet with multiple dermal/subcutaneous nodules. The nodules were moderately firm and were present all over the trunk in variable sizes, with the larger nodule being 3cm wide. They were not painful, and the cat was well otherwise. Fine needle biopsy was taken from one of the nodules and sent to our laboratory for cytology.

This is what we saw on cytology.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙙𝙤𝙘?
(Answer will be posted on Thursday)

24/11/2024

**𝐍𝐄𝐖** - 𝐒𝐃𝐌𝐀 𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥!

After a lot of validation work we are very excited to introduce Awanui Veterinary’s new immunoturbidometric assay for SDMA, an important advancement in assessing renal function in dogs and cats.

𝑨𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅 10% 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚!

Here’s a summary of the key points and how they might impact clinical practice:

> SDMA (symmetric dimethylarginine) is a biomarker that indicates declining glomerular filtration rate (GFR). It's more sensitive than serum creatinine in detecting early renal dysfunction. Unlike creatinine, SDMA is not reabsorbed by the renal tubules, and its levels are less influenced by factors such as muscle mass and diet.

> SDMA levels can rise before creatinine levels do, making it a useful early marker for kidney disease. Since SDMA is not affected by muscle mass, it can be more accurate in detecting renal issues in patients with varying muscle conditions.

> There is a good correlation between SDMA, creatinine, and GFR. However, SDMA tends to increase before urine concentrating ability is lost, which might not be reflected by creatinine levels alone. However, its specificity can vary depending on the chosen cut-off values, which impacts how it is used in practice.

Read all the details on our website here: https://www.awanuivets.co.nz/sdma/
And check your emails for the pricing!

21/11/2024

FOR A BIT OF A LAUGH!

This might be worth keeping in mind if you have 'someone' chatty at home! 😳

19/11/2024

WHAT'S YOUR DIAGNOSIS - ANSWER

No cheating! If you haven't seen our post from Monday, go check it out now before reading any further 🙃

DIAGNOSIS:

Histology, along with bacterial culture confirmed a diagnosis of actinobacillosis (aka woody tongue).

This bacteria is part of the normal oral mucosal flora in sheep and cattle, and typically gains access to deeper tissues via traumatic injury. Lesions are generally found on the head and neck, and local lymph nodes are frequently involved. Lesions can be associated with quite a bit of fibrosis - as seen in this case, and this can potentially affect adequate anti-microbial pe*******on. Treatment may be unsatisfactory in long standing cases.

17/11/2024

WHAT'S YOUR DIAGNOSIS?

Test your skills with this gross photo:

One of four 15-month old heifers found to have lumpy, spreading lesions on their heads. Also present were ulcers in the folds of the hard palate, lumps in nasolabium, cheek and upper lip, plus swellings in the submandibular areas.

What’s your diagnosis? (Answer will be posted Wednesday).

14/11/2024

FANTASTIC FRIDAY!

Check it out, a dog with a rainbow collar 😍 Does your dog have a collar as fancy as this ?🌈🐶

Feel free to share a pic in the comments. 😀

12/11/2024

LET US BE OF ACYSTANCE!

Lucy, a seven-year-old, spayed female Domestic Short-Haired cat presented to her veterinarian with a palpable subcutaneous mass in the jugular furrow on the left side of her neck. The owners opted for surgical excision and during surgery it was noted to be adherent to the adventitia of the underlying jugular vein. The mass was successful removed and the cat recovered uneventfully.

Histologically there were two adjacent cysts which were lined by different epithelia (Photo1 - * indicates the branchial pouch cyst). One cyst was lined by stratified squamous epithelium and contained abundant laminated keratin (Photo 2). Rare peripheral sebaceous glands in the surrounding stroma were identified communicating with the cyst which confirmed this was a dermoid cyst.

The second cyst contained clear fluid and was lined by a solitary layer of columnar epithelium (Photo 3 - arrowheads) which was ciliated consistent with a branchial pouch cyst.

Read more here: https://www.awanuivets.co.nz/let-us-be-of-acystance/

10/11/2024

CHRISTCHURCH ANNIVERSARY DAY

Our Christchurch laboratory will be closed on Friday, 15 November, in observance of the regional anniversary day holiday. However, it will be open during regular business hours on Saturday, 16 November.

𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.

07/11/2024

FOR A BIT OF A LAUGH!

🌱

05/11/2024

PARASITE MANAGEMENT

Some great reminders from Beef + Lamb New Zealand for your client's November to do list.

Also check out our website for ovine parasitology toolbox for more information: https://www.awanuivets.co.nz/ovine-parasitology-toolbox/