VIDEO REVIEW

Instrument Care and Sterilisatlon. Video produced by Provet for the Unit of Veterinary Continuing Education of the Royal Veterinary College, London. 1992. Duration 42 minutes. Order from UCVE, The Royal Veterinary College, Royal College Street, London NWI OTU, UK. Facsimile +44 71 383 0615. Price f35 + p&p f 12 worldwide. Payment by cheque (payable to the RVC), or credit card (Access/MastercardNisa).

The video is of good visual and audio quality, and is well scripted. It is accompanied by a workbook, which includes a list of British suppliers and manufacturers, a safety bulletin and 33 questions with answers relating to sterilisation.

The video briefly covers the use of water, ultrasound and chemicals, including lubricants, for cleaning surgical instru- ments. The use of boxes, nylon bags and paper for packaging and sealing, andautoclave tape, temperature andsteamindicators and sterilising tubes for monitoring the effectiveness of the sterilising process are considered. The presenters offer usehl tips on protecting sharp instruments from damage, describe the correct principles and procedures for packing a large load and demonstrate correct technique for opening sterilisdgacks and scalpel blades. In addition, the safe disposal of contaminated wastes is discussed.

The procedures demonstrated and discussed in the video are basedontheuseof avacuumautoclaveinahospital environment, with emphasis on safety of operators and care of equipment. Other sterilising techniques, including boiling water, hot air ovens, gas (ethylene oxide) and radiation, are also briefly dis- cussed. Boiling is considered to be old-fashioned and unreliable; ethylene oxide is not recommended because of health and safety considerations.

The video considers a number of benchtop autoclaves (front and top loading). The presenters consider that non-vacuum autoclaves do not guarantee sterilisation of wrapped instruments and emphasise the importance of complete removal of air from the sterilising chamber if the process is to be effective.

The video is very effective in promoting the advantages of vacuum autoclaves and demonstrating procedures that promote the effectiveness of sterilisation. If used in conjunction with the questions in the accompanying workbook it may be used to maintain staff awareness of the issues relating sterilisation, and in this regard could be a useful addition to a video library.

Ian Robertson

Diagnosis in Small Animal Dermatology. A set of four videos and two workbooks. 7. Taking the History(35 min). 2. Ph yslcai Examination and Diagnostic Tests (50 min). 3. Four Easy Cases (26 rnin). 4. Four Difficult Cases (32 min). Unit for Veterinary Continuing Education, The Royal Veterinary College, London. 1990/1 99 1/1992. Order from UCVE, The Royal Veterinary College, Royal College Street, London NWI OTU, UK. Facsimile +44 71 383 0615. Price f l O O (set of four videos) + p&p f12 worldwide. Payment by cheque (payable to the RVC), or credit card (Access/MastercardNisa).

Diagnosis of dermatological problems is based largely on history, clinical examination and the interpretation of gross findings. Therefore, this discipline lends itself well to video

presentation of instructional material. If well done, the medium can illustrate characteristic lesions and diagnostic techniques better than many of the dermatology texts, however well illustrated they may be.

This set of four videos covers the systematic approach to diagnosis followed by most veterinary dermatologists. There are two small (13 and 15 pages) workbooks, which carry a few of the major diagrams and a set of questions and answers related to the video presentation. Videos 1 and 2, narrated by DH Lloyd and DI Grant, cover the basics: history taking, clinical examination and diagnostic techniques, such as skin scrapings, hair pluckings, coat brushings, tape stripping, intradermal skin testing, cytologi- cal examination and culturing. In videos 3 and 4, IS Mason and DH Scarff present four typical dermatological cases and quickly work through the history and clinical fiidings, then ask the viewer to construct a list of differential diagnoses and steps for making the diagnosis. The first four are described as 'easy cases' and the second as 'difficult cases'. These are good exercises €or the viewer. The videos are strictly about diagnosis; they do not cover treatment.

The videos are well produced with good colour, graphics and a selection of clinical cases that provide good examples of the material beiig discussed. Most importantly, the close-up photo- graphy is good. The narration is clear, although in the first two videos it is frustratingly slow. Considering the value of the medium in presenting visual material, it is also disappointing that so much time is spent in these first two videos simply with face-to-face discussion rather than voice over a presentation of clinical value.

While these videos probably duplicate what is now taught in most undergraduate veterinary courses, they would provide a valuable update for less recent graduates. Their cost, once con- verted into Australian dollars, would be the main deterrent to purchase. However, this type of material does lend itself to group purchase and circulation. They would be a useful addition to continuing education.

VP Studdert

Clinical Examination of the Eye of the Cat and the Dog, Video produced by Provet for the Unit of Veterinary Continuing Education of the Royal Veterinary College, London, duration 45 minutes. Order from UCVE, The Royal Veterinary College, Royal College Street, London N Wi OTU, UK. Facsimile+44 71 383 0615. Prieef35+p&pf 12 worldwide.

This video was filmed at the Queen Mother Hospital of the Royal Veterinary College, and is presented by Dr Peter Bedford, an eminent veterinary ophthalmologist. The video is one in a series of Provet video productions, and deals with the examination of the eye using a light source and magnification, tonometry, gonioscopy and duect and induect ophthalmoscopy. The video is interspersed with still photographs, illustrating points raised covering the basic techniques of eye examination. At one stage the use of an auriculopalpebral block is described to overcome blepharospasm; perhaps it may be easier to use local anaesthetic and/or sedation to examine eyes on these occasions.

The main strength of the presentation is that it describes in detail the use of the slit lamp, thenew type Schirmer tear test, swabbing the conjunctiva, fluorescein and Rose Bengal staining, Schiotz and applanation tonometry, gonioscopy, and examination of the lens and the fundus after dilating the fundus.

Australian VeterinaTy JOWM~ Vol. 70, No. 5, May 1993 199