In this issue – November 2010

Management and preventive health care in aged horses · Echocardiographs in healthy Thoroughbred foals · Surgical stapling technique for caecal impaction in horses · MRI of the second phalanx in horses · Radiotransmitters in snakes · Nasotracheal intubation of a kangaroo · Avian tracheal resection and anastomosis · Nasal bot fly in a cat · First report of Cryptosporidium andersoni in Australian cattle     

In this issue – October 2010

Computed tomography diagnosis of brain infarction in dogs · Tibial tuberosity advancement in canine stifles · Holter monitoring in dogs with mitral valve disease · Staggers in horses grazing paspalum infected with Claviceps paspali · Distal luxation of the patella in a horse · Escherichia coli and Salmonella serotypes in sheep at slaughter · Alzheimer type II astrocytes in the brains of pigs with salt poisoning · Classification of infectious bronchitis viruses in poultry field specimens · Mortality events in sea-caged yellowtail kingfish     

In this issue – May 2010

Flea-associated infectious agents in cats in Eastern Australia · Complications of barium-impregnated polyethylene spheres · Reproductive efficiency of Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses · GPS tracking collars to monitor horses · Correction of vesicovaginal reflux in mares · Antibodies to Lawsonia intracellularis in Australian pig herds · Mucormycosis in the platypus · Panniculitis from Mycobacterium mageritense in a Tasmanian devil     

In this issue – June 2011

Computer model predictions and field observations of anthelmintic resistance in sheep · Dangers of off‐label use of barium selenate · Elbow luxation in dogs and cats · Prognosis of joint infections in adult horses · Omentalisation for mediastinal abscess in a dog · Adenoviruses in lizards     

In this issue – December 2010

Aged horses in Queensland · Pressor therapy in neonatal foals · Fluoroscopic stents for feline urethral obstruction · Intradermal sodium lauryl sulfate as an alternative to mulesing in lambs · Monepantel faecal residues and dung fauna · Surgical spaying in yearling Brahman heifers · Anthelmintic resistance in cattle nematodes     

In this issue: September 2011

Racing 2‐year‐old Standardbred horses · Review of viral infections affecting the CNS in ruminants · Subacute rumen acidosis in beef cattle · Intralesional amphotericin B for feline sporotrichosis · Market for companion animal veterinary services in Australia · Blood parameters of lace monitors · Development of quarantine services in Australia     

In this issue – June 2012

Assay to measure success of functional parathyroid excision · Palliative radiation therapy for malignant trichoepithelioma · Idiopathic haemarthrosis in horses · Fatal snail bait poisoning in a horse · Utility of diagnostic tests for Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia in pigs · Iodine deficiency disorders in sheep · Immobilisation of estuarine crocodiles     

In this issue – April 2010

Intrasynovial catheterisation for antimicrobial administration into equine joints · Foot measurements in Kaimanawa feral horses · Myofibroblastic fibrosarcoma after equine influenza vaccination · Prepartum diet and blood metabolites in dairy cows · Potential non-surgical alternative to mulesing · Myelodysplasia in two beef calves · Parenteral barium selenate for selenium deficiency in cattle     

In this issue – March 2011

Wound healing after breech flystrike control methods in lambs · Resistance to synthetic pyrethroids in buffalo flies · Auditory function in older horses · Cutaneous asthenia in a foal · Avian trichomoniasis in an Australian avian practice · Infectious laryngotracheitis in poultry in Australia · Hepatotoxicosis in dogs eating contaminated camel meat · Pulmonary aspergillosis in a cat     

In this issue – May 2012

Breech‐strike in Merinos in south‐eastern Australia · Risk factors for clinical mastitis in dairy cows · Tick (Ixodes holocyclus) envenomation in horses · Attitudes to and use of analgesia by Queensland veterinarians · Treatment of anoestrus in bitches · Risk of arboviruses following waterbird movement     

In this issue – March 2010

Topical anaesthesia for castration and tail docking in lambs · Disease surveillance activities for saleyard pigs · Reproductive effects of time on prepartum transition diets in dairy cows · Bovine herpesvirus type 5 in bull semen · Rib osteomyelitis in three foals · Mycobacterium ulcerans in two horses · Nasal vascular hamartoma in a cat     

IN THIS ISSUE – August

Seroconversion to avian influenza virus in chickens in Victoria · Feeding of prohibited swill to pigs in Australia · Long distance dispersal of vectors for bovine ephemeral fever · Risk of poisoning from sorghum infected with ergot · Effects on bovine embryos of oxidative stress in sperm · Muscle strain injuries of the hindlimb in eight horses · T-shaped malformation of the ventral colon in foal · Zolpidem poisoning in a cat · Cutaneous trombidiosis in a Lesueur's tree frog     

IN THIS ISSUE – July 2010

Presence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in raw milk · Profiling of Haemophilus parasuis in live pigs · Cysticercus bovis in Australian cattle · Thoracoscopy for lung lobectomy in the dog · Common bile duct cyst in a cat · Caecal intussusceptions in horses in New Zealand · Improving access to the oral cavity of the wombat · Mycobacterium in a Tasmanian devil · Surgical treatment of osteomyelitis in an alpaca cria     

A multicenter case-control study of risk factors for equine protozoal myeloencephalitis

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) among horses examined at 11 equine referral hospitals. DESIGN: Case-control study. ANIMALS: 183 horses with EPM, 297 horses with neurologic disease other than EPM (neurologic controls), and 168 horses with non-neurologic diseases (non-neurologic controls) examined at 11 equine referral hospitals in the United States. PROCEDURES: A study data form was completed for all horses. Data were compared between the case group and each of the control groups by means of bivariate and multivariate polytomous logistic regression. RESULTS: Relative to neurologic control horses, case horses were more likely to be > or = 2 years old and to have a history of cats residing on the premises. Relative to non-neurologic control horses, case horses were more likely to be used for racing or Western performance. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that cats may play a role in the natural epidemiology of EPM, that the disease is less common among horses < 2 years of age relative to other neurologic diseases, and that horses used for particular types of competition may have an increased risk of developing EPM.     

Association between hypercoagulability and decreased survival in horses with ischemic or inflammatory gastrointestinal disease

Background: Coagulopathies are common in horses with ischemic or inflammatory gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances. There is indirect evidence suggesting that early stages of these diseases are characterized by hypercoagulability (HC). Hypothesis/Objectives: HC, assessed via thromboelastography (TEG), is common in horses with ischemic or inflammatory GI diseases. The degree of HC is correlated with nonsurvival and thrombotic complications. Animals: Thirty client‐owned horses with ischemic or inflammatory GI disease, 30 client‐owned horses with nonischemic or inflammatory GI disease, and 30 healthy horses (control group). Methods: Prospective, observational clinical study. TEG profiles of 30 horses with ischemic or inflammatory GI disease were obtained on admission and 48 hours after admission, and these were compared with profiles from 30 horses with nonischemic or inflammatory GI disease and 30 healthy controls. Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), antithrombin activity (AT), and D‐Dimer concentrations were also determined in horses with GI disease. Results: Horses with ischemic or inflammatory GI disease had shorter R times compared with healthy horses (14.8 ± 8.3 versus 22.8 ± 12 minute; P= .011). However, changes were subtle and TEG profiles did not resembled those obtained from animals or humans presumed to be hypercoagulable. Although conventional coagulation testing supported the presence of HC (decreased AT and increased D‐Dimer concentrations), TEG and coagulation abnormalities were rarely found in the same horses and the methods were not statistically related. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: There is evidence of HC in horses with GI disease but techniques for diagnoses require refinement.     

Equine retrobulbar disease: Diagnoses and outcomes of 15 horses with exophthalmos (1988–2017)

Retrobulbar disease, while rare in horses, can pose a clinical challenge due to the advanced diagnostic procedures necessary to determine the underlying aetiology and extent of disease. The goal of this study was to explore definitive causes of exophthalmos within a hospital population and investigate prognoses for the various aetiologies. Retrospective medical record review was used to identify 15 horses diagnosed with a definitive cause of exophthalmos. Patient signalment, disease duration, eye affected, diagnostic procedures, therapies, and histopathological diagnosis were evaluated. Geldings (12/15, or 80%) were over-represented (P = 0.014). Mean age at presentation (14 ± 6.7 years) was not significantly different for horses with (14 ± 8.5 years) and without (15 ± 4.4 years) a diagnosis of neoplasia. Diagnosis of a neoplastic process was made in 8/15 horses (53.3%) with neuroendocrine tumour being most common. Eight of the 15 cases were classified as primary orbital disease, and seven represented extension from paranasal sinus disease. Two novel diagnoses were identified: cystic hamartoma arising from the lacrimal gland and orbital aspergillosis secondary to sinonasal disease. In total, eight of 12 horses for which follow-up was available were euthanised due to orbital disease, two immediately following computed tomography of the skull and six due to disease progression. One horse was euthanised following a peri-anaesthetic complication. Three horses were lost to follow-up. Of the 12 horses for which follow-up was available, only four (33.3%) were alive 21 months post-diagnosis. Considering only patients for whom a definitive diagnosis was obtained, retrobulbar disease was associated with a poor prognosis for life.     

Effects of environmental control on pulmonary function of horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The effects of environmental control on horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was assessed by clinical examination and pulmonary function tests, ie, maximum change in intrathoracic pressure, tidal volume, minute volume, non-elastic work of breathing, dynamic compliance, inspiratory and expiratory flow rates and arterial blood gas analysis. A controlled environment (ie, bedding horses on shredded paper and feeding a complete cubed diet) caused symptomatic COPD affected horses to become asymptomatic within four to 24 days (mean ± sd 8.4 ± 4.8 days). When asymptomatic, their pulmonary function values did not differ significantly from those of normal horses, which indicates that the pathophysiological changes occurring in equine COPD are reversible. The time taken for horses to become asymptomatic correlated significantly with age, duration of illness and severity of disease as adjudged by the non-elastic work of breathing.     

In this issue – October 2011

AVA Policies · Unilateral uterine torsion in a bitch · Q fever in dogs in Townsville · Purchase price and racing performance of Thoroughbred yearlings · Review of genetic neurological defects in cattle · Bovine salmonellosis and antibiotic sensitivity · Chlamydial load and infectious disease in koalas · History of endemic disease regulation in Australia     

Echocardiographic changes in heart size in hypohydrated horses

Background: Hypohydration causes transient echocardiographic changes in pigs, dogs, humans, and cats. These changes mask the diagnosis of some cardiac diseases (valvular regurgitation, dilated cardiomyopathy) and promote the diagnosis of others (hypertropic cardiomyopathy and infiltrative disease), thus inhibiting accurate echocardiographic evaluation. Objectives: To describe the echocardiographic changes associated with hypohydration in normal horses. Animals: Ten adult horses without detectable cardiac disease. Methods: Experimental study. Echocardiographic examinations were performed on horses in the euhydrated and hypohydrated states. Horses were hypohydrated by combined water deprivation and furosemide administration until a 4–7% reduction in bodyweight was achieved. Statistical analyses were performed by paired t‐tests. Results: Hypohydration decreased left ventricular internal diameter in systole (0.8 ± 0.6 cm) and diastole (1.7 ± 0.9 cm), left atrial diameter (1.5 ± 0.4 cm) and left ventricular volume (490 ± 251 mL) (P‐values < .01), and increased septal wall thickness in diastole (0.6 ± 0.3 cm), free wall thickness in diastole (0.5 ± 0.3 cm), mean wall thickness (0.5 ± 0.2 cm) and relative wall thickness (0.2 ± 0.1 cm) (P‐values < .01). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Hypohydration produces changes in left ventricular and atrial size that could mask or promote the severity of cardiac disease. The thickened, “pseudohypertrophied” appearance of the left ventricle in hypohydrated horses could affect interpretation of echocardiographic variables that are applied to the prediction of athletic performance. Echocardiography may prove a noninvasive method of monitoring volume status and response to fluid therapy in hypovolemic horses.     

Flash electroretinography in standing horses using the DTL microfiber electrode

Purpose The goal of our study was the evaluation of a practical method for the recording of flash electroretinograms (ERGs) in sedated, standing horses with the DTL? microfiber electrode. Methods The horses were sedated intravenously with detomidine hydrochloride (0.015 mg/kg). The pupil was dilated and the auriculopalpebral nerve was blocked. The ERGs were recorded with the active electrode on the cornea (DTL?), the reference electrode near the lateral canthus, and the ground electrode over the occipital bone. The light intensities of the white strobe light were 0.03 cd·s/m² (scotopic) and 3 cd·s/m² (scotopic and photopic). Photopic and scotopic single flash and flicker responses to Ganzfeld stimulation were recorded. During the 20‐min dark adaptation period the retina was stimulated every 5 min with the 0.03 cd·s/m² single flash. Results The median b‐wave amplitudes and implicit times were 38 µV and 33 ms (photopic cone‐dominated response), 43 µV and 63 ms (5‐min dark adaptation), 72 µV and 89 ms (10 min), 147 µV and 103 ms (15 min), 188 µV and 109 ms (20 min, 0.03 cd·s/m², rod response), and 186 µV and 77 ms (20 min, 3 cd·s/m², maximal combined rod‐cone response). A steady increase in amplitude and implicit time was noted during dark adaptation. No oscillatory potentials could be isolated. Conclusions The use of detomidine hydrochloride sedation and the DTL? microfiber electrode allowed the recording of good quality ERGs. This protocol should permit the detection of functional problems in the retina without the risk involved with general anesthesia.