IDEXX VetLab®notes
Get the most value out of your IDEXX VetLab® system

Our FREE online newsletter provides valuable ideas to help you make the most of your system.

Screen for suspected Cushing's syndrome in just minutes with the IDEXX SNAP® Reader and the SNAP® Cortisol Test

Canine hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing's syndrome) is a common endocrinopathy of middle-aged and older dogs. Chronic exposure to excess cortisol often results in the development of a classic combination of clinical signs that may suggest a diagnosis to the practitioner. However, in many cases, symptoms are much more subtle, so owners may assume that weight gain and decreased overall health are just part of aging and be unaware that their dogs are critically ill.

The clinical signs of Cushing's syndrome can also be caused by a variety of nonadrenal diseases. Therefore, a thorough evaluation, including a complete blood count, biochemical profile, urinalysis, endocrine screening test and urine culture, is an essential part of the diagnostic process. Supporting chemistry results for Cushing's can include increases in ALKP, ALT, CHOL and GLU, or decreased BUN. Lipemic blood can also indicate Cushing's.

Two commonly used screening test procedures are the low-dose dexamethasone suppression test and the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test. Both require measuring serum cortisol concentrations in a baseline sample, followed by a post-treatment sample drawn 1–8 hours later, depending on the test used.

The SNAP® Cortisol Test for the IDEXX SNAP® Reader enables you to run the above test samples quickly in-house for accurate results within minutes. This allows you to discuss diagnosis, treatment options and next steps with your clients when they pick up their pets at the day's end. And, the SNAP® Reader installs easily on the right side of your VetTest® analyzer.

To learn more, call your IDEXX sales representative at 1-800-355-2896.

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Make a Note
For quicker test results, warm up your VetTest® slides early.

Did you know that you can take slides out of refrigerator or freezer storage and leave them out so they are ready to use when you need them? You can do this for up to five daily cycles, which means you can move slides from cold storage to room temperature and back on a daily basis up to five times.*

Here's how you can take advantage of this convenience:

1. First thing in the morning, review your schedule of patients coming in who may require blood work. This is easy to determine if your clinic has mandatory preanesthetic testing.
2. Pull out the required number of GHPs, Preanesthetic Profiles and single chemistry slides for the day's patients.
3. At the end of the day, put any remaining slides back into storage. Ensure that these are the first slides you use the next day so that no single box of slides cycles in and out of storage more than five times.

Remember, if an unexpected emergency comes in and there are no slides out of storage, it only takes 10 minutes for them to come to room temperature. To ensure this, you can fan the slides out on top of the VetTest analyzer for those 10 minutes.

*Do not unwrap the slides until you are prepared to insert them into the analyzer.

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Meet an IDEXX Research Scientist

IDEXX employs more than 150 scientists worldwide across disciplines ranging from microbiology and biochemistry to immunology and molecular biology.

Kate Sheldon, PhD, biochemistry, joined IDEXX in 1997 as a research scientist in Quantitative Immunoassays. In addition to new product development, she focuses on continual product improvements within IDEXX. Kate finds it very satisfying to contribute to the development of the best in-house assays available. "We just completed a comparison study between our SNAP® tests and reference laboratory tests, and our tests continue to correlate extremely well." Kate has two children, one dog and four cats.

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Frequently Asked Questions
What types of samples can I run on my analyzers?

IDEXX's VetLab® analyzers support different types of samples. Here's a quick guide.

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Testimonials—Thank you for your comments!
In the last issue of IDEXX VetLab®notes, we asked you to provide us with your thoughts on how the VetTest Chemistry Analyzer has become a key team member in your practice. We'd like to share some of the comments we received. The response was overwhelming, so we can't print all of your comments, but thank you to all who replied! Those who sent replies should be receiving their free IDEXX SNAP® timer soon.

Technicians review preanesthetic blood work with clients by sharing with them the "picture/graph" produced by the analyzer. Clients can more readily interpret a picture than numbers and ranges. This has increased the time I have to spend with cases (because the technician can initiate the discussion). Also, employees have seen the benefits of immediate results and are readily able to sell these benefits to clients.
Ron Titterington
Emerald Valley Veterinary Clinic • Eugene, OR

We detect unseen problems with routine preanesthetic testing and are able to make more defined diagnoses by isolating the problem to a particular system (i.e., kidneys or pancreas).
Dr. Chip Kammerlohr
Cassville Veterinary Clinic • Cassville, MO

It adds value to our routine services (i.e., spays, dentals and neuters) by providing us with preanesthetic results. As a technician, I feel more comfortable inducing anesthesia on animals that have had blood work if the values are within normal limits. I am glad that our practice requires blood work on all elective surgeries.
Susan Dellinger
Catawba Heights Animal Hospital • Belmont, NC

It has provided consistent results that we are comfortable trusting. The flexibility of individualizing panels per patient need is extremely valuable in an emergency practice.
Dr. Daniel K. Edge
Forsyth Veterinary Emergency Clinic • Winston-Salem, NC

It's fast and easy. We are an emergency clinic, so we need answers ASAP and we get them with the VetTest. We also like to be able to do one test or 12 tests. And we love to be able to test ammonia levels.
Catherine Carpenter
Animal Emergency Care • Midlathian, VA

I was able to diagnose an emergency case of pancreatitis—the amylase and lipase results are very invaluable.
Dr. Matt Acker
Sawtooth Animal Clinic • Bellevue, ID

A lizard presented on Sunday with mild seizures. Chemistry analysis revealed hypocalcemia, which was treated, resolving the problem.
Barry Dohner, DVM
Animal Medical Hospital • Chico, CA

While doing preanesthetic blood work on a young dog, we noticed a high ALT. With further testing, we were able to find that this dog had a liver shunt. She is now having treatment and on the way to a happy life.
Sandy Kerr
Broad Head Animal Hosiptal • Aliquippa, PA

The last case that comes to mind was a colicky horse who had been sick off and on for a month. The first thing we usually do is give Banamine®. Instead, I ran a chemistry panel because of the length of the illness. Come to find out, his kidneys weren't functioning. The Banamine could have pushed him into renal failure.
Andrea Mowely, CVT
Idaho Equine Hospital • Nampa, ID

I can get instant results for my critical care patients. Monitoring is made so much more precise using the VetTest than with "strip type" tests.
Randy Shinaut, DVM
Vista Hills Animal Clinic • El Paso, TX

One of our diabetic patients came in with severely low glucose—we were able to quickly monitor and check glucose levels every 30 minutes until we pulled her through the crisis.
Lori Grant
Confederate Ridge Animal Hospital • Fredericksburg, VA

The entire staff has been trained on the machine, so we are all involved in immediate diagnostics, and can see the results of ongoing patient monitoring and hospitalized patient care.
Dr. Kristine Sands
Apopka Veterinary Clinic • Apopka, FL

The VetTest analyzer, LaserCyte, and VetLyte machines allow us to perform blood tests when needed and to get the results within minutes.
Dr. Joseph Klein
Klein Animal Clinic • Betterndorf, IA

We are able to get results quickly—especially in kidney/liver cases. We can start treatment right away. Having the T₄/cortisol reader is great—no more sending off to outside labs and waiting (especially on weekends).
Cristina Grazziano
Best Care Pet Hospital • Omaha, NE

It gives us the opportunity to pinpoint or confirm diagnoses and treat accordingly rather than relying on empirical treatment while tests are performed at a distant laboratory. It allows us to offer a valuable service to our clients and they have appreciated that—they respect the professionalism. And I get complete pictures of my patients' health through my other VetLab® instruments.
Dr. Robert Rushing
Veterinary Hospital • Lampasas, TX

It allowed me to diagnose a case of uncontrolled diabetes in a schnauzer during routine preanesthetic blood work. Had the dog been anesthetized without knowledge of the diabetes, it would most likely have resulted in the dealth of the patient during surgery.
Dr. Jennifer R. Peterson
Animal Medical Center of Streetsboro • Streetsboro, OH

We had a dog with Addison's disease and the results from the VetTest and VetLyte saved the dog's life!
Melissa J. Murphey
Douglasville Veterinary Hospital • Douglasville, PA

We had a very sick dog—vomiting/painful. We were able to diagnose pancreatitis in about 10 minutes and start treatments.
Colleen McGuiness
VCA Valley Animal Hospital • South Windsor, CT

It showed us that a dog was not having a hemolytic crisis, and was in fact bleeding from an abdominal mass. We did surgery and the dog lived.
Richard Hanson
Ely Veterinary Clinic • Ely, MN

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