From:
Roger Vaughn
Date: 2002-05-26 11:33:00 UTC
Subject: Re: some insulinoma info and vet finding resources
> [Person said that the vet said that testing blood sugar was so
> specialized that a university vet clinic would have to do it and
> that it would be expensive.]
>
> In-house blood testing is standard and cheap in many, perhaps
> most, areas now.
This person has since clarified that he/she misunderstood what the vet
was saying.
Yes, blood glucose (BG) testing is cheap and can usually be done in
house. It only requires a drop of blood. This requires little more
than a device like the glucose meters human diabetics often use at
home. Testing BG in-house is in fact more accurate, since some small
part of the blood sugars get consumed in transport when a large blood
sample is sent to a lab.
A complete blood count (CBC) on the other hand is much more extensive
and most vets do not have the equipment or staff to do these in-house.
These are usually shipped out to veterinary labs for work-up.
The results of a CBC are yet another story. (This is where the
original misunderstanding came in.) These have to be interpretted by a
veterinary pathologist (like our Dr. Williams) who is trained in
understanding disease, what all of these numbers mean, and how the two
relate. Sometimes the lab that does the blood work will have a
qualified pathologist on staff, but since there are few very good
*ferret* pathologists around, lab results are often sent out to yet
another specialist for interpretation.
All of this is to help your clinical veterinarian, who is trained in
hands-on administration of care, to understand what is going on in your
little friend's body so that he or she can devise the appropriate
treatment.
If it seems expensive some times, step back and realize that you are
paying for a lot of highly trained people to help out, even if you
never actually meet any of them.
Roger & the Crew of Seven