Category Archives: Science-Based Veterinary Medicine

IntroductionSepsis is currently defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction secondary to a dysregulated physiologic response to infection. There are widely used, evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and management of sepsis in human medicine,1but there is no single guideline or consensus statement … Continue reading →

One of the most common medicines used by veterinarians is metronidazole. Though labeled as an antibiotic, like most drugs metronidazole has multiple effects. In addition to killing some bacteria, it can be used to treat the protozoal parasite Giardia, and … Continue reading →

I have written many times about the misuse of diagnostic tests and the risks of misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis associated with improper use of screening tests. Recently, I condensed my rants on these topics into an article I hope will be … Continue reading →

It is really never a good sign when a miraculous new breakthrough in veterinary medicine is announced on the internet. That isn’t where true scientific breakthroughs show up. Legitimate science is a slow, detailed process where even brilliant, revolutionary ideas have … Continue reading →

Veterinary medicine suffers from a chronic lack of scientific evidence to identify safe and effective treatments. We are authorized to used medicines approved for human or animal use on an off-label basis in other species or conditions because the Food … Continue reading →

I’ve written about stem cell therapies numerous times over the years, though not for quite a while. My conclusions were always along the lines of “promising but unproven.” This is one of those perfectly plausible therapies that I expect will … Continue reading →

New Ideas in ScienceOne of the most exciting aspects of science is the discovery and development of new ideas and insights that lead to new ways of understanding and manipulating the natural world. Theories that seem preposterous at first can … Continue reading →

I have been trying to keep up with the clinical trial literature evaluating cannabis (primarily CBD) in veterinary patients. There is a lot of research happening right now, so it is challenging to keep current even on this limited subset … Continue reading →

A reader recently asked me to take another look at a product for producing and administering platelet rich plasma (PRP). This is a subject I haven’t covered since 2013, when I wrote about a small study looking at the use of PRP for arthritis … Continue reading →