Veterinary Medication Basics
How many pounds in 1 kg?
2.2 lbs/kg
What is the terminology for giving a medication by mouth?
PO (per os)
In order to determine the dose of an NSAID, what are the two very important pieces of data you will need to collect before either calculating a dose or conferring with a DVM?
The weight of the animal
The concentration of the drug
If when you are giving a medication subq and during the aspiration phase of administering, you see blood in the hub of the syringe, what should your response be?
Withdrawal the needle, replace the needle, choose another injection site, start again
If no one knows if an animal has received their NSAID, what should you do?
Never give! Only give IF you can confirm they did not receive
Veterinary terminology for: Once, twice, three, four times per day?
SID, BID, TID, QID
Aside from giving NSAID's by mouth, what is the other route of administration Zoology commonly uses to deliver a medication?
Under the skin
Name the three of the most used NSAID's used at Zoology
Meloxicam, banamine, carprofen (Rimadyl)
Call Poison Control! This number is in the Zoology phone and should also be in all our phones for our personal animals!
Who is the one and only decision maker regarding ALL medication perscribing?
The veterinarian on record for that particular animal
On any drug label, what two pieces of information that are essential for you to know?
Name of drug
Concentration of drug
What is the route of administration that has the quickest onset of action? Which is the slowest?
Intraveneously if fastest
Subq is the slowest
What two common side effects might you see with the use of NSAID's?
Loose stool, lack of appetite
Name two places you can find the veterinarian's phone information
Zoo phone and the DVM phone tree that lives in Meg's office
What route of administration should Banamine NEVER be delivered by?
IM (Intramuscular)
Do all drugs have the same half-life in every species?
No
What medication types does Zoology use topically?
Otic (ears)
Optic (eye meds)
What are the two names used interchangeably for an injectable NSAID frequently used at Zoology?
Banamine = flunixin
What information will pet poison control need when you call them?
Animal species, breed, age, weight, and medication type/strength
Bonus: Known health concerns, treats that were also ingested
What 2 species do we have that should never get Meloxicam tablets?
Bonus points: What version do they get instead?
Cats and dogs.
Bonus points: Metacam
Name four main reasons Zoology animals receive NSAID's. Before answering, why did Klinger receive meloxicam, it was not for pain
1. Pain control (arthritis, post-operative pain control)
2. Anti-inflammatory
3. Fever control
4. Anti tumor growth. We gave it to Klinger for his squamous cell carninoma)
Name 5 patient "rights" of all Drug Administration
Right Drug
Right route
Right patient
Right time
Right amount
Before giving any medication subq, what is the protocol you have been taught for successful administration.
Gimme: the first step is to have a coworker properly restrain the animal :)
Proper restraint, determine injection site, uncap the needle, needle bevel up (facing the sky), insert needle, aspirate, rotate, aspirate, support the syringe, inject, remove needle
At Zoology, what have been the two common reasons there have been medication errors?
1. Distractions of all kinds (Tiredness, unfocused attention, interruptions)(
2. Unprotected/unsecured mediations - open access by other animals
What two NSAID's should never be given to a camel, goat, sheep, llama, alpaca together? Bonus treat if you can explain why
Banamine & meloxicam
This is called stacking and is the quickest way to cause kidney injury