Schedule
March 18-21, 2027
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Costa Rica
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18 CE Hours
This lecture will provide a practical, anatomy-based approach to the evaluation and emergency management of small animal patients presenting with respiratory distress. Emphasis will be placed on using observation, respiratory pattern, abnormal motion, and respiratory sounds to rapidly localize disease to the nose, pharynx/larynx, trachea, bronchi, alveoli, pleural space, or chest wall. Common causes of respiratory distress within each anatomic location will be discussed, along with prioritization of stabilization and selection of appropriate emergency diagnostics.
The presentation will focus on practical interventions that can be initiated while a definitive diagnosis is pursued, including sedation, oxygen supplementation, bronchodilator therapy, thoracocentesis, airway management, and ventilatory support. Attendees will develop a systematic framework for rapidly localizing respiratory disease, choosing high-yield diagnostics, initiating appropriate treatment, and recognizing when a patient requires escalation of respiratory support.
This lecture will provide a practical overview of oxygen supplementation in small animal patients, from traditional techniques to advanced respiratory support. Indications for oxygen therapy will be discussed, followed by comparison of commonly available delivery methods, including flow-by oxygen, oxygen hoods and cages, face masks, nasal oxygen, nasotracheal oxygen, and transtracheal oxygen. Emphasis will be placed on selecting an appropriate method based on the patient’s respiratory needs, anticipated oxygen delivery, tolerance, and the advantages and limitations of each technique.
The presentation will also explore options for patients requiring escalation of respiratory support, including intubation, mechanical ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), and high-flow oxygen therapy (HFOT). Practical considerations surrounding nasal oxygen delivery and high-flow therapy will be highlighted, with attention to their potential to improve oxygenation and decrease work of breathing. The session will provide veterinarians with a framework for progressing from simple, readily available oxygen supplementation to more advanced techniques when conventional therapy is inadequate.
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This lecture reviews the pathophysiology, complications, and management of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS), with an emphasis on the acutely compromised and hospitalized patient. The primary and secondary anatomic abnormalities associated with BOAS and their effects on airway resistance, work of breathing, and progressive airway obstruction will be discussed. The important association between BOAS, gastrointestinal dysfunction, regurgitation, and aspiration pneumonia will also be reviewed.
Practical strategies for reducing respiratory and gastrointestinal complications will be highlighted, including preanesthetic management, sedation, patient positioning, oxygen supplementation, airway maneuvers, nebulization, and management of airway inflammation. Advanced interventions, including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and temporary palatopexy, will be discussed in the context of patients with severe respiratory distress or failed extubation. Attendees will gain a practical framework for early recognition of respiratory compromise, minimizing factors that increase airway resistance and work of breathing, and escalating respiratory support when necessary.
There are several risk factors for toxin effects on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Common intoxicants including albuterol, calcium channel blockers, clonidine, methylxanthines, and plants will be covered. Clinical signs, treatment and prognosis will be addressed.
Dogs and cats are not small fuzzy people and cats are not small dogs. Why are cats more sensitive to some substances and resistant to the toxic effects of others? Why do certain toxins only affect dogs? Sometimes the answer is unknown but other answers lie in the different physiology of dogs and cats.
I think my pet has been poisoned! This is not an uncommon utterance heard in the ER. In some cases, diagnostic testing can rule in or out certain toxins. See what common (and uncommon) diagnostic tests can be used for diagnosing poisoning.
A bleeding patient is stressful, but in an acute emergency we only have a few diagnostic and treatment options available. Our diagnostic toolkit includes platelet count, clotting times, and, where available, viscoelastic testing, but we can also tell a lot just based on history, signalment and physical examination. Treatment choices might include transfusion of whole blood or blood components, antifibrinolytics, DDAVP, vitamin K, and surgical haemostasis. This session covers how to narrow the differential diagnosis list, choose the right diagnostic tests and select the best treatment for each patient.
Rodenticide exposures have always been very common in pets. This discussion will cover changes in frequency of certain rodenticides over the years and how to treat rodenticide intoxications.
This session will consider the diagnosis and treatment of IMHA, PIMA, and ITP through an ECC lens. How much evidence do you need to start immunosuppression in the emergency room? What should you transfuse, and when? And which adjunctive treatments should we start early? And what should we do when our patients don’t respond as expected. We’ll help you master all manner of hematological havoc.
The 2019 and 2022 CURATIVE guidelines gave veterinary medicine its first evidence-based consensus on thromboprophylaxis in small animals but a lot has happened since then. So where are we now? This specialist-level session will review the evidence published since CURATIVE, including new data on direct oral anticoagulants, antiplatelet drugs and combination therapy, and what that evidence means for patients at risk of thrombosis. We’ll also discuss where practice has moved beyond the guidelines, which questions are still unanswered, and how considerations for approaching these patients in your own hospital.
Illicit substance intoxications in pets are always changing depending on what is happening on the human side. Clinical signs, treatment, and prognosis will be covered.
This lecture will compare clinically important envenomations encountered in small animal practice in Australia and the United States. Clinicians from opposite sides of the globe will highlight both the striking differences and important similarities in venomous species, clinical presentations, diagnostic approaches, and treatment strategies. The presentation will explore common snake envenomations in each region, with emphasis on the effects of different venom components and the resulting neurologic, hematologic, cardiovascular, and tissue manifestations.
A practical, case-based approach will be used to contrast patient assessment, recognition of characteristic envenomation syndromes, diagnostic testing, supportive care, and antivenom use between the two countries. Differences in available antivenoms, treatment protocols, monitoring, and complications will be discussed, along with lessons veterinarians in each region can learn from their colleagues on the other side of the world. The session will provide a clinically relevant framework for recognizing and managing envenomation while offering a unique international perspective on what happens when curious pets encounter the wrong snake.
This lecture will provide a practical overview of the recognition, stabilization, treatment, and monitoring of canine heatstroke. Topics will include environmental and exertional heatstroke, predisposing patient and environmental risk factors, normal mechanisms of heat dissipation, and the physiologic changes that occur as hyperthermia progresses to systemic disease.
The presentation will emphasize initial patient assessment and evidence-based cooling strategies, including appropriate cooling methods, temperature targets, fluid resuscitation, and interventions that should be avoided. The systemic effects of heatstroke will be explored, with attention to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, renal, hepatic, neurologic, pulmonary, hematologic, and coagulation abnormalities.
The lecture will also address the dynamic nature of heatstroke and the importance of continued monitoring after initial stabilization. Recommendations for serial laboratory testing will be presented, including assessment of platelet counts, renal and hepatic function, electrolytes, glucose, and coagulation parameters. Delayed complications and clinically useful prognostic indicators will be discussed to help guide patient assessment and communication with owners.
A case-based approach will be used to integrate initial presentation, cooling and resuscitation, diagnostic evaluation, ongoing monitoring, recognition of complications, and prognostication. The session will provide veterinarians with a structured approach to managing heatstroke from presentation through hospitalization and recovery.
This lecture will provide a practical approach to the evaluation and management of small animal patients affected by smoke inhalation and thermal injury. Smoke inhalation will be addressed as an immediately life-threatening consequence of fire exposure, with emphasis on recognizing clinical evidence of exposure, understanding the pathophysiology of upper and lower airway injury, and identifying important limitations of patient assessment. The effects of inhaled toxins, particularly carbon monoxide, will be discussed along with initial stabilization, oxygen supplementation, supportive care, and monitoring for delayed complications such as airway obstruction, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, and secondary infection.
The presentation will also review the assessment and treatment of burn injuries, including classification by burn depth and percentage of total body surface area (TBSA). Particular attention will be given to severe burn injury and its two physiologic phases: the initial hypodynamic resuscitation phase and the subsequent hyperdynamic, hypermetabolic phase. Management strategies will include fluid resuscitation, analgesia, nutritional support, and wound care, with emphasis on early debridement, removal of eschar, maintaining wound moisture, and protecting healing tissue. The session will provide veterinarians with a framework for prioritizing immediate threats while anticipating the evolving respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, and wound-care needs of fire-injured patients.
So many articles, so little time! Various articles published over the past year will be discussed that relate to veterinary emergency medicine. Sometimes you can’t just read the abstract…
Acute kidney injury is common in critically ill dogs and cats, and it can feel like a gamble whether they recover, progress to chronic kidney disease or don’t survive. This session covers how to localise azotaemia, tell AKI from CKD, and use the IRIS 2024 consensus to grade injury and recognise acute kidney disease. We’ll look at how our thinking has changed, including kidney injury biomarkers, moving away from “fluids for diuresis,” and the role of extracorporeal therapies. We’ll finish with practical management of established AKI, giving these patients the best odds.
For such tiny organs, the kidneys are effected by a wide range of toxicants. Vitamin D, ethylene glycol, grapes/raisins, lilies, and oclacitinib will all be discussed.
A toxicologist, an Aggie and an Aussie walk into an ER… This is no joke, though, because the patients are already waiting. Join Dr. Tina Wismer, Dr. Christine Rutter and Dr. Claire Sharp as they work through real toxicology cases together, from patient and risk assessment to treatment and monitoring. On the patient menu: oclacitinib, psychogenic mushrooms (in many forms), kratom and acrylamide. Expect practical tips, different perspectives and lively discussion.