APPROACH TO THE EMERGENCY EQUINE PATIENT

Often in emergency situations minimal date are collected, decisions ar e made, manipulations are performed, and therapeutics are administered without the collection of complete data sets that would indicate a de tailed history and laboratory analysis. The incomplete clinical analys is may lead to occasional mistakes, but most often expediency is neces sary and admirable. This article presents a clinical approach to emerg ency patients that requires minimal data collection in the face of the need for timely decision development. Medicolegal considerations are addressed briefly.