A retrospective evaluation of the surgical management of equine carpal injury

SUMMARY: Records of 220 thoroughbred horses presented to the Randwick Equine Centre or the University of Queensland Veterinary Teaching Hospital for surgical management of carpal injury were reviewed. Details of racing performance were obtained, enabling evaluation of racing success following surgery. Age and sex matched control horses not known to have suffered carpal injury were selected from the Australian Stud Book and the Australian Racehorse Register. Control and treated populations were compared in terms of overall career racing success.
Radiographs or xeroradiographs from 198 horses were available for evaluation. The dorsomedial aspects of the distal articular surface of the radial carpal bone and the proximal articular surface of the third carpal bone were the most commonly observed locations of osteochondral fracture. Bilateral carpal injury was found to be sufficiently common to warrant routine radiographic examination of both limbs. The dorsolateral-palmaromedial oblique, flexed lateral and dorsoproximal-dorsodistal oblique (skyline) projections were the most useful views for evaluation of carpal degenerative joint disease. Surgical removal of osteochondral fractures by arthrotomy or arthroscopy was found to be a suitable method of treatment.
Arthroscopy was associated with a significantly shorter convalescent period than arthrotomy. Seventy-six percent of the treated population returned to racing following surgery. Average earnings following surgery were 20 000. However, the median value was only 1400 and 48% of the treated population failed to earn more than 1000. Male horses in both the treated and control groups performed significantly better than females. Treated horses performed significantly better than the randomly selected control population.     

Transient Myocardial Thickening in Cats Associated with Heart Failure

Background

Cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and congestive heart failure (CHF) can have resolution of both left ventricular hypertrophy and CHF.

Objectives

To describe the clinical characteristics of cats with transient myocardial thickening (TMT) and CHF compared with a control population of cats without resolution of HCM.

Animals

A total of 21 cats with TMT, 21 cats with HCM.

Methods

Retrospective study. Clinical records at 4 veterinary centers were searched for TMT cases and a control group of cats with HCM and CHF. TMT was defined as initial maximal left ventricular wall thickness (LVWT) ≥6 mm with left‐sided CHF, with subsequent resolution of CHF, reduction in left atrium/aorta (LA/Ao), and LVWT<5.5 mm. HCM was defined as persistent LVWT ≥6 mm.

Results

Cats with TMT were younger (2 [0.4–11.4] years) than cats with HCM (8 [1.6–14] years) (P < 0.0001), and antecedent events were more common (15/21 versus 6/21, respectively) (P = 0.01). In cats with TMT, LVWT normalized from 6.8 [6.0–9.7] mm to 4.8 [2.8–5.3] mm and LA/Ao decreased from 1.8 [1.6–2.3] to 1.45 [1.2–1.7] after a mean interval of 3.3 (95% CI: 1.8–4.7) months. CHF recurred in 1 of 21 TMT and 15 of 21 cats with HCM. Cardiac treatment was discontinued in 20 of 21 cats with TMT and 0 of 21 HCM cats. All cats with TMT survived, whereas 8 of 19 cats with HCM died during the study period.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

TMT occurs in younger cats, and antecedent events are common. The prognosis is better in cats with CHF associated with TMT than HCM.     

Infectivity and persistence of an outbreak strain of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium DT160 for house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in New Zealand

AIM: To examine the infective dose, incubation period and disease progression of an isolate of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium definitive type 160 (DT160) originating from a naturally-infected house sparrow (Passer domesticus) during an outbreak of the disease in New Zealand. METHODS: Thirty-six house sparrows captured from the wild and free of Salmonella spp were divided into six groups of six birds, housed individually, and inoculated orally with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or 10(1), 10(2), 10(3), 10(5), 2 x 10(8) colony forming units (cfu) of the outbreak strain of S. Typhimurium DT160. The birds were observed for 10 days for clinical signs and/or mortality, and faecal samples were collected to determine excretion of S. Typhimurium. The birds were euthanised 11 days post-inoculation (p.i.) and a wide range of tissue samples were collected for histopathological examination, and culture and typing of Salmonella spp. Macro-restriction profiling by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using XbaI was performed for the epidemiological typing of S. Typhimurium DT160 isolates. RESULTS: Mortality in house sparrows inoculated with S. Typhimurium DT160 was dose-dependent, and 2/6 birds inoculated with 10(5) cfu and all six birds inoculated with 2 x 10(8) cfu died during the study. Infected sparrows displayed few clinical signs, apart from diarrhoea and/or polyuria, fluffed plumage, and sitting on the floor of the cage. Faecal excretion of DT160 occurred briefly in two birds inoculated with 10(2) cfu and four birds inoculated with 10(3) cfu, on most days in five birds inoculated with 10(5) cfu, and continuously in six birds inoculated with 2 x 10(8) cfu. DT160 was isolated from the livers of three birds which received 10(3) cfu, five birds dosed with 10(5) cfu, and all six birds given 2 x 10(8) cfu. Following necropsy, histopathological lesions similar to those seen in the natural disease were observed in the liver or spleen of three birds which received 10(3) cfu, and all birds dosed with > or =10(5) cfu. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that an isolate of S. Typhimurium DT60 originating from house sparrows in New Zealand is pathogenic to these birds and that the response is dose dependent. The persistence and excretion of the pathogen may last for at least 10 days. This confirms that sparrows infected with DT160 could be a source of infection to humans and other in-contact animals.     

Clovis age Western Stemmed projectile points and human coprolites at the Paisley Caves

The Paisley Caves in Oregon record the oldest directly dated human remains (DNA) in the Western Hemisphere. More than 100 high-precision radiocarbon dates show that deposits containing artifacts and coprolites ranging in age from 12,450 to 2295 (14)C years ago are well stratified. Western Stemmed projectile points were recovered in deposits dated to 11,070 to 11,340 (14)C years ago, a time contemporaneous with or preceding the Clovis technology. There is no evidence of diagnostic Clovis technology at the site. These two distinct technologies were parallel developments, not the product of a unilinear technological evolution. "Blind testing" analysis of coprolites by an independent laboratory confirms the presence of human DNA in specimens of pre-Clovis age. The colonization of the Americas involved multiple technologically divergent, and possibly genetically divergent, founding groups.     

Serum Serotonin Concentrations in Dogs with Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease

Background: Increased serotonin (5HT) signaling has been implicated in valvular disease of humans and animals, including canine degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD). High circulating 5HT concentration is a potential source of increased signaling, and serum 5HT concentrations have not been previously reported in dogs with DMVD.
Hypothesis: Dogs with DMVD and small breed dogs predisposed to DMVD have higher serum 5HT concentrations than large breed controls.
Animals: Fifty dogs affected with DMVD, 34 dogs predisposed to DMVD but without cardiac murmur or echocardiographic evidence of DMVD, and 36 healthy large breed control dogs.
Methods: Prospective analysis. Serum 5HT concentration was measured by an ELISA test.
Results: Median serum 5HT concentration was significantly higher in dogs with DMVD and in dogs predisposed to DMVD as compared with controls (DMVD, 765.5 ng/mL [interquartile range, 561.3–944.4]; predisposed, 774.9 ng/mL [528.3–1,026]; control, 509.8 ng/mL [320.8–708.8]; P = .0001). Subgroup analysis of predisposed dogs indicated significantly higher serum 5HT concentrations in Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (CKCS) dogs than in other breeds (CKCS, 855.0 ng/mL [635.8–1,088]; non-CKCS, 554.2 ng/mL [380.6–648.4]; P = .0023). Age, platelet count, and platelet morphology were not correlated with 5HT concentration in any group.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Dogs with DMVD had significantly higher serum 5HT concentrations when compared with large breed control dogs. Healthy CKCS dogs had significantly higher serum 5HT concentrations than other healthy dogs predisposed to DMVD. Additional investigation into a possible role of 5HT in the pathogenesis of DMVD is warranted.     

Assessment of the diagnostic accuracy of circulating natriuretic peptide concentrations to distinguish between cats with cardiac and non-cardiac causes of respiratory distress

ObjectivesTo determine if serum natriuretic peptide (NP) concentrations could distinguish cardiac from non-cardiac causes of respiratory distress (RD) in cats.AnimalsSeventy-four cats from 1 university hospital were used.MethodsSerum NP concentrations were measured in 41 cats with non-cardiac respiratory distress (RD-NC) and compared to 33 cats with RD due to congestive heart failure (RD + CHF) using sandwich enzyme immunoassays (ELISA).ResultsRD-NC cats had lower (P = 0.0001) median NT-proANP and NT-proBNP concentrations (614 and 45 fmol/mL, respectively) than RD + CHF cats (1690 and 523 fmol/mL, respectively). The area under the curve was 0.88 and 0.96 for the receiver operating curve analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of NT-proANP and NT-proBNP concentrations to discriminate RD + CHF from RD-NC cats (P = 0.036). An optimum cut-off concentration of 986 fmol/mL for NT-proANP and 220 fmol/mL for NT-proBNP accurately discriminated RD-NC from RC + CHF cats with a sensitivity of 93.8% and 93.9% and a specificity of 80.3% and 87.8%, respectively.ConclusionsSerum NP concentrations were different in RD + CHF cats compared to RD-NC cats. Evaluation of circulating NP concentrations may be helpful in the initial approach to cats presenting with respiratory distress, particularly if advances in ELISA technology result in a rapid cage-side test.