Description
The “acute abdomen” is a common presentation in emergency practice can can be caused by many underlying problems. A successful outcome relies on good decision making in the first few hours focussing on appropriate stabilisation and logical use of in house diagnostics. In this webinar we will briefly review the key differential diagnoses and stabilisation measures before focussing on making the most of diagnostics. The decision as to whether the patient requires surgical intervention and when is a crucial one and the various criteria that can be used to aid this decision will be discussed with reference to the current evidence base. Learning objectives By the end of this webinar participants will be able to
List the common differential diagnoses for patients presenting with “acute abdomen”
Describe basic stabilisation measures
Understand when and how to use imaging modalities to aid with decision making
Describe techniques for abdominal fluid analysis and how to interpret these analyses
List criteria for surgical intervention
Amanda graduated from Cambridge University in 1998. She undertook further clinical training at the RVC and the University of Pennsylvania and is Board certified in both Internal Medicine and Emergency and Critical Care. She was a Lecturer in ECC at the RVC from 2003-2008. In September 2008, she took up the post of Clinical Director at Vets Now where she has responsibility for clinical and professional standards and training across 53 emergency clinics and three 24 hour hospitals. She is Founding President of the European College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ECVECC) and is an elected RCVS Council member.