Polyarthritis secondary to septic thrombophlebitis in an Arabian mare

A 3‐year‐old Arabian mare presented with diarrhoea and depression. During hospitalisation, the mare developed septic thrombophlebitis associated with a jugular catheter. One week later, she developed secondary bilateral tarsocrural joint septic arthritis. Following surgical intervention and intensive medical therapy, the mare recovered successfully. The case highlights an unusual and previously unreported complication of septic thrombophlebitis.     

传染性法氏囊病患鸡死亡机理研究

对传染性法氏囊病（IBD）发病过程中的微血栓形成做了动态检测,并观察了补液抗休克治疗对IBD发病过程的影响。结果发现：早期死亡鸡重要器官（肺、心和脑）中微血栓检出率比早期病（未死）鸡和晚期死亡鸡显著增高（P＜0．05）;补液抗休克治疗可显著降低IBD患鸡的晚期死亡（P＜0.001）。这说明重要器官的微血栓形成与IBD患鸡的早期死亡有关;而腹泻-脱水-低血容量性休克则是晚期死亡的主要原因。     

Two cases of hepatopathy and hyperferraemia managed with deferoxamine and phlebotomy

The following case report documents the investigation and progression of two cases of hepatic failure and hyperferraemia in Shetland ponies in Scotland exposed to high environmental levels of iron in groundwater, and to the authors’ knowledge describes the first use of deferoxamine in adult ponies. The importance of consideration of serum iron levels in cases of equine hepatic disease is highlighted and it is suggested that reduction in serum iron by phlebotomy or treatment with deferoxamine may be beneficial in cases displaying hyperferraemia.     

The effect of three phlebotomy techniques on hematological and clinical chemical evaluation in sprague-dawley rats

The effects of three phlebotomy techniques - periorbital sinus puncture, tail vein incision and cardiac puncture - were determined on seven hematological parameters and seven clinical chemical parameters in female Sprague-Dawley rats. The mean erythrocyte count, leukocyte count, hemoglobin and hematocrit were reduced with cardiac puncture as compared to the other two techniques. There was a statistically significant increase in the variance of each of these parameters except the leukocyte count. The mean serum lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate animotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase and creatinine were greater in samples collected by cardiac puncture than with the periorbital sinus and tail vein techniques. A statistically significant difference in variance was observed between the orbital sinus puncture and the cardiac puncture for each of these parameters. In all cases except lactate dehydrogenase, the values from the orbital sinus and tail vein techniques were comparable for both hematology and clinical chemistry. A large variance was found by all three techniques for both alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase in the rat. Over 60% of the serum samples were hemolyzed from the cardiac puncture technique while approximately 25% of the serum samples from tail vein incision were hemolyzed. In this laboratory the lack of hemolysis and the lower variance make the periorbital sinus venipuncture technique the method of choice for collection of blood samples from rats.     

Fluid therapy for the traumatized patient

Objective: To review the rationale behind and experiences with traditional and newly evolving concepts of fluid therapy in the traumatized patient, and to review conventional and novel fluid preparations for use in trauma resuscitation. Data sources: Human and veterinary clinical and research studies. Human data synthesis: Current treatment guidelines recommend aggressive fluid resuscitation with lactated ringers solution (LRS) or saline as optimum management of hemorrhagic shock in trauma, regardless of whether bleeding is controlled or not. The rationale behind this strategy is to restore intravascular volume as rapidly as possible to ensure adequate vital organ perfusion. Recently, this strategy has been challenged, especially in patients with uncontrolled hemorrhage, as neither laboratory evidence nor clinical trials support this practice. Current research indicates that vigorous fluid infusion may exacerbate bleeding and cause severe hemodilution, both impairing resuscitation outcome. As a result, a new line of thinking is emerging that balances the risks and benefits of intravenous volume infusion by offering the clinician alternative treatment strategies and emphasizes continuous endpoint‐oriented monitoring. ‘Hypotensive’ or ‘hypovolemic’ resuscitation techniques as well as initial volume replacement with fluids other than LRS or saline (e.g., hypertonic saline [HTS], HTS with dextran 70 [HTS‐D]) have been introduced in human medical practice as additional options for treatment of victims of trauma under certain circumstances. Clinical studies evaluating the use of hemoglobin‐based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) in the trauma setting are underway and may soon lead to an expansion of the fluid arsenal available to the clinician for treatment of trauma patients. Veterinary data synthesis: Based on available animal data, neither strict guidelines nor a clear fluid preference for resuscitation of traumatic shock have been defined. Although systematic clinical trials are missing, combinations of crystalloid and colloid (natural or artificial) appear to be as effective for resuscitation as crystalloid alone. Judicious use of an HBOC (e.g., Oxyglobin^®) as a substitute for blood/red blood cells may be recommended in situations where whole blood or pRBCs are not or not yet available. Conclusions: The search for optimal methods of fluid resuscitation in trauma is ongoing. At this point the best solution is a differentiated approach to fluid therapy, one that tailors type and volume of resuscitation solution(s) used to the type and severity of injury in an individual patient and uses monitoring of perfusion and oxygenation parameters to guide resuscitation. Crystalloid fluids are effective for resuscitation but may need to be combined with or replaced by colloidal fluids in certain clinical situations.