Diagnosis and in house pathology
In house pathology
At Matraville Veterinary Practice we have a well set up in-house laboratory with the most up to date Idexx equipment for performing blood testing.
Blood testing is very important in our animal patients as our furry friends cannot tell us exactly how they are feeling. Blood tests provides us with key insights into your pet’s general health and how their internal organs and systems are functioning.
A blood analysis of your pet will reveal accurate information of their blood cell count, their immune system and may detect the presence of injury, inflammation or disease activity. Biochemical analysis of the blood will measure levels of enzymes, blood sugar and other metabolites, electrolytes, proteins including albumin and globulins and hormone levels such as thyroid levels and cortisol.
We may recommend your pet has his or her blood taken for testing in the following situations:
- Animals presenting with a variety of clinical signs such as vomiting, lethargy, reduced appetite, increase in water consumption and many more. This is because blood testing can play a very important role in making a diagnosis in sick patients. Using our in-house Idexx Catalyst, Lasercyte and Vetstat machines we are able to run very comprehensive blood profiles getting results in under 30 minutes allowing us to start treatment as soon as possible.
- Prior to administering anaesthesia to identify any underlying organ disease that may affect their procedure or recovery and to make the experience as safe as we possibly can.
- Initial or repeat veterinary consultations in our more elderly animal patients to detect organ disease before the animal may start to demonstrate any clinical signs. We are often then able to introduce preventative measures to slow down the course of the disease and allow our lovely older pets to continue to have good quality of life for many years to come.
We also have equipment for performing tests on urine, faeces and samples collected from our animal patients. In many cases, our vets are able to perform these tests in-house giving owners results during the time of consultation.
For the tests that are not able to be run in-house, we have a relationship with an external laboratory that will pick up samples on the same day they are collected and we often receive results by the following day.