WHEAT RIDGE VETERINARY SPECIALISTS’
Newsletter
internal medicine • dermatology • oncology • neurology • cardiology • surgery • emergency & critical care • radiology, ultrasound, MRI & CT scan
IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS Makes Sharing
Bloodwork Results Easier!
A common frustration for referring veterinarians and at times
for us is the access to laboratory data of our mutual patients. Wheat Ridge Veterinary Specialists uses Idexx Laboratories to handle our in-house and out-of-house sample testing. All the data from the tests is available to you for our mutual patients on the VetConnect® PLUS web site 24/7. You are
not required to be a user of Idexx laboratory services to access
the data and it is easy to register for access to the VetConnect®
PLUS web site. Once you are registered you will have access
to any lab data on our common patients at any time.
If you already use VetConnect® PLUS you can immediately
start taking advantage of the Collaborate Feature. If you don’t
have a VetConnect® PLUS account, go to vetconnect.com,
click the Subscribe tab and submit the requested information.
IDEXX will contact you to help you sign in. Again, you do not
have to use Idexx lab services nor does this commit you to
using their services. It just enables you to check on your patient’s lab work at your convenience.
To see a diagnostic sharing demonstration, visit
www.idexx.com/diagnosticsharing. For more information or
assistance in signing up, please contact Melissa Flygare here at
Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital at 303-996-1364.
Congratulations to Sean
Cabello,
CVT,
VTS
(Emergency & Critical
Care)
We would like to congratulate
Sean Cabello, CVT on his certification with the Academy of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care
Technicians (AVECCT). Sean has
been a part of our overnight emergency & critical care team for the
past seven years.
March/April 2014
In this issue…
IDEXX VetConnect® PLUS ............................................... 1
Congratulations to Sean Cabello, CVT, VTS (ECC) ............. 1
Apoquel (Oclacitinib) ................................................... 1-2
GDV and Lactate ............................................................. 3
Upcoming Continuing Education ..................................... 4
Apoquel (Oclacitinib)
Leonard D. Jonas DVM, MS, DACVIM
Apoquel (Oclacitinib) is the new anti-allergy and anti-itch
medication produced by Zoetis. Many of you have already
seen the promotional materials and attended lectures or webinars about this product. From my point of view, Apoquel is
one of the greatest additions to our arsenal for delivering comfort to our patients and stress relief for their owners that I have
seen in my 34 years of veterinary practice. (And no, I was not
paid by Zoetis to make that statement.) Apoquel will provide
us a great alternative to corticosteroids and cyclosporine in
control of allergic dermatitis for our patients.
What is Apoquel?
Apoquel is an inhibitor of Janus Kinase 1 (JAK1). JAK1 is part
of the enzyme system responsible for the production of signaling cytokines (interleukins) that are proinflammatory, proallergic and pruritogenic. The specific interleukins inhibited by
Apoquel are IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-13 and IL-31. IL-2, 4, 6 and 13
are all proinflammatory and proallergic cytokines. IL 31 is specific for induction of pruritus in dogs. As you can imagine, a
drug that inhibits inflammation and itch is right on target for