The best veterinarians would also make good detectives because we do detective work every day. At our animal hospital in McKinney, TX, we’re presented with sick patients and yet can’t ask them basic questions to gain insight into their diseases. Pet owners can only relate some of the symptoms but can’t answer the questions that would really help us out.

We gain valuable clues by doing physical exams, which may or may not yield enough information to formulate a diagnosis. In many cases, lab testing is necessary to glean the clues we need.

An extremely handy piece of equipment gives us the acid/base status of the patient. This is basically the pH level of the blood, but we also gain information that categorizes the condition as metabolic or respiratory in nature, how electrolytes are contributing to the equation, and how the body is attempting to respond.

We learn about parameters such as base excess and anion gap that help us determine the extent or severity of illnesses. Putting all of the information together provides us with invaluable information that lets us know if the animal should stay at our animal hospital in McKinney, TX or if they can be treated at home. We learn what corrections must be achieved and how severe a condition really is.

At our animal hospital in McKinney, TX, we use repeated testing on hospitalized patients to gauge the effectiveness of therapies, responding as necessary to changes in status. Improvements in pH levels very often accompany improvement in the patient’s condition, so this testing is very helpful during the course of treatment.

This invaluable information also happens to come with a very reasonable price tag, only costing a fraction of full blood panels. We sometimes use only the acid/base analyses without the necessity of further blood panels when enough information becomes available with this simple testing. This provides us with quick, valuable information on which to base a diagnosis and treatment, it and saves pet owners the costs of much more expensive testing.

Even though more complex or serious cases can require additional testing such as full blood panels, urinalyses, radiographs, blood pressure, etc.; the acid/base status is usually great information that adds to our base of knowledge about a patient.

In this game of diagnostics and treatment, knowledge and information are power, and I’ll take all of it I can get. Knowing that so much is available with such easy and inexpensive testing is a comfort, and makes any diagnostician better.

Animal Hospital McKinney TX

Stonebridge Animal Hospital

5913 Virginia Parkway

McKinney, Texas 75071

469-507-2433