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IMPORTANT COVID-19 UPDATE More Info

Northside Veterinary Specialists are here for you and your pets during this crazy COVID time, and business is (almost) as usual. In accordance with best practices to keep our employees safe and our hospital operational, we have moved to a contactless consultation and admission process.

Please rest assured, even though we aren't seeing you face to face, your pet is still getting the best of care. Visit the COVID section of our website for more information.

Call on 9452 2933 with any questions.

We thank you all for your support and patience!

COVID-19 CONSULTING HOURS 6am - 6pm, Monday - Friday
24 HOURS PER DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK in case of emergency

Clinical Practice

January 30th, 2019

What Antibiotic Do I Use For…?

What antibiotic should I be using with suspected infectious cholangiohepatitis in dogs?

The most common bacterial infections of the liver ascend through the biliary system from the duodenum, and include Staphylococcal spp, E coli, and Clostridia. Good old Amoxycillin clavulanate at 20mg/kg BID would be an ideal choice to cover these most common organisms. If I am not seeing a response (resolution of pyrexia, reduction of liver enzymes), I get suspicious that this may not be a bacterial infection and consider liver biopsy / bile cytology and culture, and recommend further testing before escalating antimicrobial coverage.

Choices, choices..

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Clinical Practice

January 24th, 2019

Getting to the Bottom of Anal Sacculitis

I have actually had buckleys success treating culture positive anal sacculitis with systemic antimicrobials – the more you give, the more resistant the bacteria are in there – but they are always in there…

The best medical success I have had is flushing weekly for 4-6 weeks and instilling a topical antibiotic + cortisone into the gland. I just thread a 22g catheter (without stylet!) into the duct, and attach a saline syringe and flush. My favourite ointment to instil is Panalog, but if you can’t get that either chloramphenicol + a cortisone-containing ophthalmalogic preparation seems to do the trick. I’ve also sucessfully used manuka honey a few times, but you have to use a big catheter because it’s so thick!

Regarding when to go to surgery: If the anal sac feels large and flaccid after a couple of flushes, I usually take them out. If they are full and feel like they have good tone, I tend to persist with medical managment.

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Clinical Practice

January 10th, 2019

NSAID’s in CRF

The relationship between NSAIDs and chronic renal failure is a bit tricky. We know they can cause acute renal injury but the association with CRF is not as clear. Cats with CRF treated with meloxicam have a longer life expectancy than those not treated as they are euthanised for their OA!

In some patients with stable stage 2 CRF we recommend NSAIDs for OA management, but monitor renal parameters two weeks after starting, then three monthly ongoing. It is important to educate owners that dosing when dehydrated may trigger acute renal failure, so it is best they contact you for alternative pain management strategies if their kitty is unwell.

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