Lab Work

When you bring your pet to a South Florida emergency pet hosptial such as the Animal Emergency and Urgent Care Center in Deerfield Lake, you need immediate diagnosis, monitoring and treatment to address the needs of your seriously or critically ill animal. One of the best ways to provide the best possible medical attention throughout your furry companion’s stay with us is to utilize the numerous capabilities of our veterinary laboratory. Our emergency pet lab work can examine many of an animal’s internal functions and processes, making accurate triage, diagnosis and treatment possible.

Complete Blood Count (CBC)

This test analyzes the numbers and appearance of blood cells. There are three parts:

• Red blood cells. Measures of packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration and red cell count test the proportion of the whole blood volume occupied by the red blood cells, the oxygen-carrying capacity of the red blood cells and the number of red blood cells in a unit volume of blood.
• White blood cells. These include two types. phagocytes surround and consume bacteria, waste and foreign particles. Lymphocytes are responsible for cellular immune responses and antibody production.
• Platelets. Also known as thrombocytes, these particles are critical in repairing damaged blood vessels during the clotting process.

AEUCC’s in-house lab is equipped with multiple IDEXX Procyte DX systems that can quickly run CBC and other blood test processes, yielding even complex results in less than two minutes.

Blood Chemistry

These panels are used to examine the chemicals in a sample of blood. With the results from these assessments, our expert veterinarians can get answers about the health and functionality of certain organs, leading to a more precise diagnosis and accurate treatment plan.

Some of the most commonly performed tests include the following:

• SDMA: an in-house tool used to assess kidney functioning.
• Total T4: a hormone test that allows us to screen for, diagnose and manage thyroid disease.
• Bile acid assessment. This analyzes the blood before and after food intake to look at bile acid levels.
• Progesterone. This test accurately predicts canine ovulation.
• Fructosamide. Assessing this level helps in diabetic assessment and management.
• Urine P:C ratio: diagnose early kidney disease in a single test.
• PBHR: monitors phenobarbital levels.
• CRP: C-reactive protein test detects and monitors systemic inflammation in dogs.

Additionally, our chemistry analysis platform allows us to perform multiple other tests such as Cholesterol (Liver), Amylase (Pancreas), Glucose (Pancreas), Creatinine (kidney), BUN (Kidney), Alanine Transaminase (Liver), Albumin (Liver-Kidney), Gamma-glutamyl transferase (Liver), Globulin (Infection, Inflammation, cancer), Alkaline Phosphatase (Liver and/or bone), lipase (Pancreas), Phosphate (Kidney), Bilirubin (liver), Total Protein (Kidney), Chloride (Acid Base Balance), Sodium and Potassium .

Urinalysis

Urinalysis is a simple test that uses a small sample of your pet’s urine to test for infections and diseases.

It is very effective in the diagnosis of diabetes and diseases of the kidneys or liver and is traditionally performed for the following reasons:

• As a screening mechanism for early signs of disease during a routine medical exam.
• To gain information if a pet is showing symptoms suggesting diabetes or kidney or liver disease.
• To monitor your pet’s health if they have diabetes, kidney or liver disease.
• To diagnose urinary tract infection.
• To check for blood in the urine.

AEUCC uses the IDEXX Sedevue analyzer with load on-load off efficiency and advanced bacteria and high-resolution images to identify and classify elements, determine the absence or presence of bacteria and review and share high-resolution imagery in real time to make fast and accurate diagnoses possible.

Coagulation Profiles

Without proper coagulation, an animal’s blood cannot clot appropriately. This set of blood tests can help us to determine if your pet who is bleeding abnormally has a coagulation problem and, if so, which stage of the clotting process is not functioning correctly. With our in-house IDEXX Coag Analyzer, we can detect bleeding disorders in a matter of seconds to diagnose disease and avoid bleeding complications resulting from surgery.

The following are two effective tests that are commonly used:

• Activated partial thromboplastin time test (APTT) to screen for intrinsic and common coagulation pathway disorders in dogs or cats. This test can be conducted using citrated or fresh whole blood.
• Prothrombin time test (PTT) to screen for extrinsic and common pathway disorders. This test can be done with fresh or citrated whole blood.

Emergency pet lab work work can truly be a life-saver when you bring your pet to us in an emergency. Whether your companion has experienced trauma, snake bite, seizures, unexplained symptoms or a flare-up of an existing chronic disease, there are situations when diagnosis and treatment are beyond the regular business hours or capabilities of your routine veterinarian.

Contact Us Today for Emergency Pet Lab Work

At AEUCC, our experienced, compassionate team of veterinarians, veterinary nurses, technicians and referring specialists will use our numerous laboratory capabilities as just one of the many effective tools at our disposal for diagnosing, monitoring and treating your pet. We are a fully-accredited South Florida emergency pet hospital and are available 24/7 365 days a year to provide immediate, comprehensive critical care, triage, diagnosis and monitoring to the pets and families of Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Margate, Parkland, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano. We are committed to keeping you and your regular veterinarian informed at every juncture so that you can be educated about next steps and medical options. Located at 103 N. Powerline Rd. Deerfield Beach, Fl 33442, we welcome your call at (954) 428-9888 day or night.