Emergency and critical care medicine is one of the fastest growing fields of veterinary practice. Virtually every life-threatening disease can present for emergency evaluation, requiring knowledge of internal medicine, neurology, cardiology, oncology, anesthesia, and much more. Rapid and effective application of this knowledge can mean the difference between life and death for the animal.

Critical care requires the recognition of subtle changes in the clinical course of animals, and the ability to take corrective action before severe systemic disease becomes irreversible. Clinical decisions regarding seemingly small items, such as fluid therapy, antibiotics, or analgesics, can have a profound impact on patient outcome.

This book focuses on management of the more common emergency and critical care conditions encountered in clinical practice, collated in a concise manual. There are chapters on emergencies affecting each body system, on toxicology and other environmental causes, and on critical care techniques ranging from patient monitoring, anesthesia and analgesia to fluid therapy, transfusion medicine and nutritional support, plus a chapter describing clinical skills and procedures. The text is illustrated by top-quality color photos, imaging and diagrams, and key information is highlighted in tabular form.

The authors combine experience in teaching and in clinical practice, and provide a ready resource for all those actively engaged in the field: practitioners and trainees, technicians, and nurses.

Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care: Case Studies in Client Communication, Morbidity and Mortality provides a unique opportunity to learn from real-life case examples. Presented as a collection of short case studies, the book examines a wide range of situations likely to arise in emergency practice.

The approach is modeled on the Morbidity and Mortality Conferences which were first established as a training and educational tool for medical doctors. They have now been successfully adopted in veterinary medicine as a forum for case review and learning opportunities, encouraging thorough review from different perspectives.

Each chapter presents a real case, and highlights the pitfalls that both novice and experienced veterinarians can encounter. A key theme of the book is on communication issues. Owner perspectives are discussed, as well as how communications between clinicians and owners can be optimized to allow veterinarians to better meet owner expectations.

The cases were provided by a variety of experienced veterinarians, primarily specialists in veterinary emergency and critical care, as well as other specialties, general practice, universities, and private institutions.

This highly readable book is suitable either to absorb from cover to cover, or for reference to a specific case or situation. It highlights a number of common clinical problems and communication issues that either did or may lead to difficulties in case management, helping you to avoid these situations.