Critical Care

When your pet is seriously ill, PASE’s team of critical care specialists and highly trained nursing staff are there when you need it!

Our critical care specialty is focused on the treatment of the sickest animals and centered around providing them with the best chance of getting home as soon as possible. Criticalists are skilled with multiple diagnostic tools including:

• Focused ultrasound

• X-ray

• Complete blood counts

• Serum biochemistry

• Coagulation testing

• Blood acid-base analysis

• Arterial and venous blood gas analysis

• Blood pressure

• Urinalysis

• Point of care cytology

• Infectious disease testing

• Body fluid analysis

• Endocrine testing

• Fluoroscopy

• MRI

• CT

• Electrocardiogram

• Pulse oximetry

• Lung washes

• Invasive oxygen therapy

Utilizing these tools, critical care specialists are equipped to handle any kind of illness your cat or dog is experiencing. Criticalists are commonly referred to as the 'Jack of all trades' in a veterinary hospital. They are able to use their advanced training in every organ system and type of disease to deal with each individual patient, especially ones with multiple problems all at once.

Critical care specialists are skilled with many procedures and interventions that may be life-saving to your pet. This includes placement of specialized intravenous catheters, chest tubes and drains, removal of fluid from around the heart or lungs, wound repairs and minor surgical procedures, placement of bandages or splints, oxygen therapy and use of a mechanical ventilator, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

PASE critical care specialists also work to support the PASE Emergency Medicine team as well as our other specialty services. By participating in the management of all patients in the ICU, a criticalist provides a watchful eye over pets during a stressful situation. Whether your pet is seen primarily by a PASE criticalist or one of the emergency doctors or other specialists the PASE critical care team is always in the background helping.

At PASE, we strive for the best medicine and that is achieved by having a collaborative team with all of our specialties, the critical care team operates on an open ICU concept, this means that whether you are admitted through Neurology, Cardiology, Internal Medicine, or another specialty service, it is not just your primary doctor that is overseeing your pet. Our ICU team has a watchful eye on all patients 24/7.