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Herd Health
Nov. 6th, 2005 03:23 pmWhen you hear hoofbeats think horses, not zebras. It's one of the basic tenets of veterinary medicine (and, for all I know, human medicine too). It means, more or less, that when you're presented with a case, the most common explanation for the symptoms is usually the most likely to be correct. For example, when you have a little fluffy doggie who's fed mostly table scraps that comes in with a complaint of vomiting for a couple of days, it's much more likely to have an upset stomach from too much rich food than, say, a testicular tumor that's caused its prostate to enlarge to the point that it obstructs his bladder, leading to acute kidney failure.
Or, just as a f'rinstance, when you have a young, apparently healthy animal that comes in with a history of seizures, it's almost always caused by epilepsy, and almost never caused by an externally-undetectable and exceptionally rare heart defect causing blood to flow backwards in its body, triggering an overproduction of red blood cells and subsequent overconsumption of energy resources until the brain malfunctions from energy depletion.
So. When you hear hoofbeats think horses, not zebras. Unless you happen to be working in one particular corner of West Virginia - in that case, no matter how much you try to paint over the stripes and braid extensions into their manes, you will eventually have to accept the fact that not only are you sitting right in the middle of a zebra herd, if you look hard enough at the edges you can see a small but triumphant clan of unicorns prancing along tossing their horns in sheer mockery of your outdated concept of 'common medical problems.'
Since arriving here a little more than two weeks ago, I've had fully half a dozen cases that qualify as 'my, that's unusual,' at least one 'it's not supposed to work that way,' and two animals that have managed to boggle the specialists at the closest referral institute. It's definitely keeping me from getting bored at work, and I'm sure that having all of the weirdness grouped into one small area is a valuable public service, making diagnosis much easier for everyone in the rest of the world, but I do feel just a bit sorry for pet owners here - I've reached a point where I'm almost dreading having to explain *anything* to owners.
"Yes, miss, I'm sure that when your aunt's dog had itchy skin, she treated it for fleas and it got better. And I'm sure the same thing was true for your cousin's dog, and your friend's dog in Pennsylvania, and every dog you owned as a child in Ohio. But due to the local Wacky Diagnosis Zone, your itchy dog has somehow managed to sneak into the Kroger's parking lot and devour a case of polar bear liver that, by obscure coincidence, was mistakenly delivered here instead of the Cincinnatti Zoo. This has led to a phenomenally rare but fatal vitamin overdose, which will cause his skin to explode in about three minutes. You might wish to move into the lobby now....."
Or, just as a f'rinstance, when you have a young, apparently healthy animal that comes in with a history of seizures, it's almost always caused by epilepsy, and almost never caused by an externally-undetectable and exceptionally rare heart defect causing blood to flow backwards in its body, triggering an overproduction of red blood cells and subsequent overconsumption of energy resources until the brain malfunctions from energy depletion.
So. When you hear hoofbeats think horses, not zebras. Unless you happen to be working in one particular corner of West Virginia - in that case, no matter how much you try to paint over the stripes and braid extensions into their manes, you will eventually have to accept the fact that not only are you sitting right in the middle of a zebra herd, if you look hard enough at the edges you can see a small but triumphant clan of unicorns prancing along tossing their horns in sheer mockery of your outdated concept of 'common medical problems.'
Since arriving here a little more than two weeks ago, I've had fully half a dozen cases that qualify as 'my, that's unusual,' at least one 'it's not supposed to work that way,' and two animals that have managed to boggle the specialists at the closest referral institute. It's definitely keeping me from getting bored at work, and I'm sure that having all of the weirdness grouped into one small area is a valuable public service, making diagnosis much easier for everyone in the rest of the world, but I do feel just a bit sorry for pet owners here - I've reached a point where I'm almost dreading having to explain *anything* to owners.
"Yes, miss, I'm sure that when your aunt's dog had itchy skin, she treated it for fleas and it got better. And I'm sure the same thing was true for your cousin's dog, and your friend's dog in Pennsylvania, and every dog you owned as a child in Ohio. But due to the local Wacky Diagnosis Zone, your itchy dog has somehow managed to sneak into the Kroger's parking lot and devour a case of polar bear liver that, by obscure coincidence, was mistakenly delivered here instead of the Cincinnatti Zoo. This has led to a phenomenally rare but fatal vitamin overdose, which will cause his skin to explode in about three minutes. You might wish to move into the lobby now....."
