Low-Cost Veterinary Clinical D iagnostics

In Low-Cost Veterinary Clinical Diagnostics, the authors provide a hands-on resource designed to facilitate healthcare delivery across the spectrum of care.

Historically, clinicians have been taught to apply the gold standard approach to the practice of medicine. However, recent advances in veterinary medical care and associated technologies have made practitioners question whether a one-size-fits-all approach is truly best. After all, when we perform diagnostic tests, are we testing out of the desire for completeness, to cover all bases for the good of the patient? Or are we testing because we are expected to?

The reality is that gold standard care is not always advisable and not always possible. In clinical practice, veterinarians frequently encounter obstacles that limit their approaches to case management. Cost of care is a significant constraint that requires practitioners to rethink which diagnostic tests are essential.

Not every patient requires a complete blood count (CBC), chemistry profile, urinalysis, and fecal analysis to obtain diagnostic value. This text suggests that the "best" approach to case management be determined by the situation, the context, the patient, and the client.

While sophisticated panels of tests may remain the recommended approach to case management, Low-Cost Veterinary Clinical Diagnostics outlines entry-level, in-house diagnostic blood, urine, fecal, and body cavity fluid tests: how to perform them as well as the breadth and depth of patient-specific data that can be gleaned from quick assessment tests (QATs).