Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
The equine neonatal intensive care laboratory: point-of-care testing.
- Journal:
- Clinics in laboratory medicine
- Year:
- 2011
- Authors:
- Wilkins, Pamela A
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
In neonatal intensive care for young horses, quick evaluations and treatments are crucial. It's important to understand that young horses have different health benchmarks compared to older horses or other animals. Point-of-care testing devices can help vets make faster decisions about treatment, but these devices might not always work well for very young horses because they were designed for older animals or different species. The article highlights these age-related differences and the possible drawbacks of using these testing devices, which could impact the care that young horses receive.
Abstract
Rapid evaluation and intervention is a requirement and a characteristic of patient management in neonatal intensive care units, and this applies for equine neonates also. Appropriate interventions are based on solid knowledge of age, maturity, and species-specific differences in reference ranges. Point-of-care (POC) testing devices speedup decision making regarding treatments and interventions. However, there are potential limitations of these devices when applied to age groups and species beyond those they were specifically developed for. This article discusses the age-specific differences in the reference ranges and the potential limitations of POC devices currently used, which may affect delivery of care.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21295726/