Navigating corneal ulcers in general practice

During an interview with dvm360 ahead of Fetch Nashville, DJ Haeussler Jr, DVM, MS, DACVO, gave a small insight into his upcoming lecture by discussing what signs indicate it is time to refer to an ophthalmologist for a corneal ulcer. He explained what red flags could present in the patient, indicating they need to see a specialist sooner rather than later. Within the interview, Haeussler also explained common mistakes he sees general practitioners make when it comes to treating ulcers in general practice.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.

DJ Haeussler Jr, DVM, MS, DACVO: Depth is the big one. If you are looking at something in an ulcer, and it really gives you a feeling that it looks deep, that should be referred very quickly. Also, colors play a big part, so any sort of yellowing is more concerning; that would indicate that there's some sort of infection, such as bacterial or fungal infections. Then if the ulcer is melting, [it needs] to be referred immediately. So, if the cornea looks very soft and has a melting appearance, [it] should be referred quickly.

This may sound a little off, [but] putting a medication that isn't indicated for an ulcer on an eye, and that's for any disease, is—we see a lot of cases where maybe a dog is diagnosed with glaucoma, and they're sent with [a] triple antibiotic. That's not going to do anything for that. So, utilize notes from conferences or textbooks, and pick an appropriate medication to treat that condition. Then, of course, the biggest one is never use steroids in an eye with an ulcer, which pretty much everybody knows, because they hammer that pretty hard in vet school.

Want to learn more from Haeussler? He is speaking at a Fetch conference for the first time ever in Nashville, Tennessee, at the end of this month. Register today to hear from key industry experts like Haeussler by heading to the Fetch Nashville website.