Veterinary Testing for Fast Diagnosis
The most common diagnostics used at Pet Care Veterinary Hospital include imaging such as digital radiology, and laboratory testing which includes blood tests, urine analysis and fecal exams. During your pet’s first wellness exam, we may run some or all of the following laboratory tests to establish baseline values for your pet:
- CBC (complete blood count)—Measures the number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets to help diagnose infections, anemia, and other blood cell related problems
- Chemistry panel—Measures electrolytes, enzymes, and serum chemistries to assess how the internal organs are functioning
- Urinalysis—Helps detect the presence of protein, sugar, white blood cells, or blood and to detect a possible illness such as urinary tract infections, diabetes, dehydration, and kidney problems
- Fecal smear—Looks for intestinal parasites as well as abnormalities in bacterial populations
Other diagnostic testing includes:
- Digital radiology (also known as X-rays)—Offers the most detailed still pictures that can then be viewed on our computer monitors. We can also send them to you or a referring doctor through email or burn them onto a CD. Very small amounts of radiation are used, so this testing is thought to be quite safe. Pet Care offers both digital X-rays and digital dental X-rays for all of our patients.
- Ultrasound—Uses harmless sound waves to create pictures. We would recommend ultrasound to evaluate the function of the heart, liver, kidneys, and other internal organs, to determine if there are masses or tumors, and to detect and diagnose illness.
- Endoscopy—Allows us to view your pet’s internal organs by inserting a tube into his or her body that has a camera at the tip so that we can watch the progress on a video monitor. This procedure lets our doctors see internal tissue without performing invasive surgery. Instruments can also be inserted through the tube so that tissue may be removed and biopsied for additional diagnostic information.