Journal watch24 February 2021
Author(s): N. Ackerman
Published in: The Veterinary Nurse
Date: December 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/vetn.2020.11.10.440
Type of access: Requires membership/payment
(click for full article)
This article can be accessed via RCVS Knowledge Library Membership (click here).
Find out more about the benefits of our membership.
Our summary
Ackerman, N. (2020) Renal patients: IRIS scores, nursing care plans and care bundles. The Veterinary Nurse, 11 (10), pp. 440-446.
This article describes the management of cats and dogs with chronic renal failure (CRF) using the International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) staging score, which enables veterinary professionals to integrate the IRIS guidelines into care bundles as part of an overall nursing care plan.
The article discusses the use of the IRIS scoring index as a diagnostic tool to identify the progression of the disease from Stage 1 (no azotaemia, normal creatinine) to Stage 4 (severe azotaemia) with information given on how initial staging is carried out. The use of IRIS staging to plan treatment is then covered, with the management of CRF broken down into pharmaceutical and nutritional approaches.
The important role that veterinary nurses play in helping owners to understand medications; in providing guidance on their administration and the importance of compliance; and in understanding the nutritional requirements of their animal is emphasised.
Finally, the author introduces three nursing care plan models: the Logan, Roper and Tierney Model; Orem’s Model, and the Ability Model. Using the Ability Model as an example, the considerations to be discussed with owners of patients with CRF are given.
While the article gives a good overview, the addition of practical recommendations and more detail in the discussions of nursing care plans would have been useful.
Take home
This is a practical paper that provides a useful overview, set out clearly, of the management of chronic renal failure in dogs and cats.
Next steps
Receive journal watch by email
