Brookville Veterinary Hospital

Laboratory Testing

Wellness Blood Screening

Wellness Blood Screening is a window into the body to help assess internal organ functions, which cannot be determined based on physical examination alone. Indications of internal organ functions, such as the liver and kidney functions as well as the presence of infection or anemia can be determined. These tests are particularly important for developing baseline values relative to your pet.

Canine Combo Test – Heartworm/Lyme/Erhlichia/Anaplasmosis

Heartworms are transmitted from infected pets to healthy pets by mosquitos. This test will help us determine if your pet has heartworms prior to the administration of heartworm prevention. In this immediate area, very few heartworm cases have been diagnosed. However we recommend heartworm testing and prevention especially if your pet travels outside this immediate area or is exposed to pets that do.

Lyme disease, canine erhlichiosis and anaplasmosis are tick-born diseases that are present nearly everywhere and the incidences are growing. Testing for Lyme disease is important even if your pet is vaccinated and on tick preventatives because while prevention and vaccination is highly recommended, they are not 100% effective. Additionally, it is important to test all dogs routinely because masked disease states are prevalent and symptoms can be vague. These types of diseases, gone untreated can be damaging to the life of your pet.

Feline Combo Test – Heartworm/FeLV/FIV

Feline Heartworm Antigen tests will detect infections with adult, female worms only. However, a negative result of an antigen test, in the presence of suggestive clinical signs and a positive result of an antibody test, does not preclude heartworm infection and feline dirofilariasis should still be suspected.

We recommend the FeLV test for your pet, which tests for Feline Leukemia. Feline Leukemia is a common infection in cats caused by a virus that has the effect of reducing the body's ability to fight off infections. Feline Leukemia virus can also cause cancer in about 10 to 20% of the cats infected.

FIV or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus is transmissible to other cats. FIV depresses the immune system and allows the cat to be susceptible to other diseases easier than a normal cat. It is best to keep FIV positive patients away from other cats as much as possible.

Urinalysis and Sedimentation

The biochemical properties of the urine are tested by a urinalysis, and can help to determine the cause of a urinary tract disorder. The presence of blood or white blood cells in the urine indicates inflammation, while a change in the acid content of the urine may indicate infection. Microscopic evidence of crystals may indicate that bladder or kidney stones are present and microscopic evidence of casts (from the kidney) can be an early warning of kidney disease. The concentration of the urine can reflect kidney function and the presence of dehydration. The presence of glucose is suggestive of diabetes. Other biochemical tests can be completed and if infection is suspected, a culture of the urine will be recommended.

Intestinal Parasite Screening

The fecal flotation is the backbone of intestinal parasite identification. Fecal flotation is primarily used to identify the eggs of the parasites in your pet's stool. We recommend bringing a fecal sample with you for every visit so we may check your pet for parasites or other infections.

Cytology

Cytology is the study of cells and is used in many different ways to help diagnose what is going on with our patients. An aspirate can be taken to obtain a sample of cells inside masses or organs to help determine the disease process. An ear cytology is used to see what kind of infection your pet may have in its ears.

Diagnostic Blood work

Many tests are available to monitor the progress of common diseases in our patients such as diabetes, liver or kidney function, Lyme disease etc, these tests are recommended on a case by case basis to determine what further treatments are necessary.