Other potentially useful new injectable anesthetic agents.

Ultrashort barbiturates are not ideal injectable anesthetic agents, and new agents continue to be released as investigators pursue the goal of finding a more ideal agent. Of the new injectable agents discussed, propofol seems to be the most promising drug. Propofol should find a place in veterinary practice as an outpatient anesthetic agent because it has a rapid, smooth, and complete recovery even after repeated or continuous administration. Midazolam does not induce anesthesia in healthy, small animals and, as such, can only be used in combination with other injectable agents, such as ketamine or the thiobarbiturates. In our practice, Telazol has found a place in the anesthetic management of feral cats and aggressive dogs, where it is used for heavy sedation or to induce anesthesia. The role of flumazenil, as a reversal agent, in veterinary practice remains to be determined; however, the role in small domestic animals is unlikely to be significant.     

The hydrogen peroxide, as a potentially useful slurry disinfectant

Hydrogen peroxide is used more and more as the water and wastewater as well as slurry disinfectant. Its advantages over other oxidants are nontoxic, harmless, and environmentally acceptable by products. The basic task in the disinfection of slurry is to destroy or remove infectious microorganisms so that the slurry cannot transmit disease producing agents, when disposed on the land or into waters.

In the present study the effect of hydrogen peroxide disinfectant with catalytic action of metal ions, silver and ferrous, was investigated in the hygienization process of pig and cattle slurry.

In order to determine the optimal concentration of disinfectant, the effect of a range of final concentrations of hydrogen peroxide alone and with metal ions was investigated. Organoleptic, physicochemical and bacteriologic parameters were analyzed for wastewater quality assessment in accordance with standard methods.

The results illustrated an improvement of organoleptic properties: color and odor, the oxidation of organic matter across reduction of BOD₅ and ammonium content of the treated slurries as well as a decrease of aerobic mesophilic bacteria and total coliform bacteria numbers.

This investigation indicated that the disinfection of slurry with the oxidative compounds with hydrogen peroxide basis and catalytic action of silver and ferrous ions can be recommended for its bactericidal and oxidative effect.     

Nuclear survivin expression as a potentially useful tool for the diagnosis of canine cutaneous sebaceous lesions

Background – Sebaceous glands are specialized cutaneous adnexal glands, which work under constant hormonal control to produce sebum. They can give rise to several proliferative lesions, such as hamartoma, hyperplasia and neoplasms (adenoma, epithelioma and carcinoma). Their nomenclature is currently confusing, both in veterinary and in human medicine, owing to the difficulty of differentiating between some of these lesions. Methods – The present study used immunohistochemistry to determine the expression levels and patterns of survivin and Ki67 in five samples of normal canine skin and 44 cases of canine cutaneous lesions with sebaceous differentiation (10 hamartomas, nine hyperplasia, eight adenomas, eight epitheliomas and nine carcinomas). Results – In normal glands, survivin, as well as Ki67, was expressed in scattered reserve cells. In hamartomas, survivin was more highly expressed than in normal skin, indicating a possible role of this molecule in the pathogenesis of these congenital lesions. In tumours, a moderate or high level of survivin and Ki67 expression (more than two and four and more than two positive cells, respectively) were significantly correlated with a malignant histotype, infiltrative growth and a moderate or high number of mitoses (more than two). Conclusions and clinical importance – The level of survivin expression increased with increasing malignancy, designating survivin as a new diagnostic marker in the assessment of malignancy of sebaceous tumours.     

The pharmacology of local anesthetics.

Understanding of the pharmacology of local anesthesia is important for selection of a local anesthetic for use in equine standing surgery. In general, the action potential is inhibited by local anesthetics by preventing the influx of sodium ions across the axonal membrane. The physicochemical properties of each local anesthetic determine the onset of action, potency, and duration of action. Procaine, chlorprocaine, lidocaine, and mepivacaine are the local anesthetics still used clinically in horses; lidocaine is the most widely used. The future of equine local anesthesia may see the introduction of longer acting, more potent drugs currently used clinically in humans and dogs as well as drugs not classified as local anesthetics--alpha-2 agonists and opioids--for use in epidural anesthesia.     

Palatal sclerotherapy: a potentially useful treatment of intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate in juvenile standardbred racehorses

This study was aimed at evaluating the tolerability and the efficacy of palatal sclerotherapy in juvenile standardbred racehorses with easily audible "snoring-like" respiratory noises suspected to be the result of intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate. The palate of 8 horses was injected with sodium tetradecyl sulfate under videoendoscopic guidance. Palatal sclerotherapy resulted in resolution of the respiratory noise in 7 horses, improvement of performance in 6 horses, and mild side effects in only 3 horses. This preliminary study suggests that palatal sclerotherapy is a safe, repeatable, inexpensive, and promising technique that should be considered as an alternative to existing treatments of intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate.     

The case for maintenance of general anesthesia with an inhalational agent.

Control of anesthetic depth is the primary advantage of general anesthesia with inhalational anesthetics as opposed to injectable agents. In addition, inhalational anesthetics provide good intraoperative stress reduction, adequate muscle relaxation, and an elimination pathway (lungs) independent of liver and kidney function. There is little postoperative respiratory depression and no rebound effect, which is sometimes seen with injectable anesthetics. The incidence of anesthetic-related toxicity is rare and is not considered a problem.     

Injectable anesthetics and anesthetic adjuncts

The purpose of this article is to review the use of selected anesthetics and anesthetic adjuncts in horses. Emphasis is placed on the pharmacologic bases of their use.     

Preparation and equipment useful for surgery in small exotic pets.

Because many exotic pets are so small, the instrumentation and equipment used for surgery are different from in larger animals. Magnification greatly improves the surgeon's ability to accomplish surgeries in small patients and helps to provide hemostasis because small amounts of blood are significant in these tiny patients. Microsurgical instrumentation is important to allow for proper tissue handling and suture placement. Various other considerations, instrumentation, and equipment are useful when performing surgery on small exotic pets.     

又有21家饲料企业加入《饲料安全新世纪宣言》承诺单位行列

去年3月份,湖南唐人神集团等35家大中型饲料企业率先在全国发起了《饲料安全新世纪宣言》,就“进一步提高对饲料安全重要性的认识,严格执行《产品质量法》、《饲料和饲料添加剂管理条例》等国家法律法规;严格按照《饲料标签》、《饲料卫生标准》等有关饲料标准的要求组织饲     

Precautions when using alpha-2 agonists as anesthetics or anesthetic adjuvants.

Alpha-2 adrenergic agonists have some unique properties that could theoretically make them useful in the perianesthetic period: they reduce the MAC of inhaled anesthetics, and they are reversible. They also have properties that may limit their usefulness, such as marked decreases in cardiac output. Their clinical utility awaits further studies.