Acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndromes in veterinary medicine: consensus definitions: The Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Working Group on ALI and ARDS in Veterinary Medicine

Background: As veterinary medicine has become more sophisticated, with greater numbers of veterinary patients receiving intensive care, more patients with an acute respiratory distress (ARDS)‐like syndrome have been recognized. Methods: A consensus definition meeting was held for the purpose of developing veterinary‐specific definitions for acute lung injury (ALI) and ARDS. Results/conclusions: Three clinically based definitions for acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress‐like syndromes occurring in veterinary patients were described. Neonatal equine respiratory distress syndrome (NERDS) was defined separately due to the specific requirement for primary developmental surfactant dysfunction and lack of an inflammatory component. Five diagnostic criteria categories were established for Veterinary ALI/ARDS (Vet ALI/ARDS) with 4 required and a fifth highly recommended criteria. A strong consensus was reached that onset of respiratory distress must have been acute and that known risk factors must be present. Additional criteria included evidence of pulmonary capillary leak with no evidence of increased pulmonary capillary pressure, evidence of inefficient gas exchange and, finally, evidence of inflammation. Some features of ALI/ARDS in the neonatal horse were recognized as unique, therefore, equine neonatal ALI/ARDS (EqNALI/EqNARDS) was similarly defined but with a graded gas exchange inefficiency table to allow for normal developmental changes in gas exchange. Use of these definitions in planning prospective studies of these problems in veterinary patients should allow for more direct comparisons of studies and clinical trials, with a larger goal of improving outcome in veterinary patients.     

Reproductive Performance of Rabbit Does Artificially Inseminated via Intravaginal Administration of [des-Gly 10, d-Ala6]-LHRH Ethylamide as Ovulation Inductor

This study was aimed to evaluate the reproductive performance of rabbit does artificially inseminated (AI) with a GnRH analogue [des‐Gly10, d ‐Ala6]‐LHRH. ethylamide to induce ovulation by intravaginal administration, delivered in the seminal dose. In a preliminary experiment, 39 does were divided into three groups (n = 13) that, at the time of AI, received the following ovulation induction treatments: (i) control group: 20 μg of gonadorelin administered intramuscularly; (ii) 25 μg of the GnRH analogue added to the seminal dose; (iii) 30 μg of the GnRH analogue added to the seminal dose. Fertility did not differ between the three groups (control: 80.6%, group 2: 82.8%, group 3: 73.3%). In a second experiment, a large‐scale field trial was conducted to test the use of 25 μg of the GnRH analogue [des‐Gly10, d ‐Ala6]‐LHRH ethylamide delivered in the seminal dose (n = 270) against 20 μg of gonadorelin administered intramuscularly. Fertility was higher (p < 0.05) when ovulation was induced by intravaginal administration of the GnRH agonist (91.1% vs 85.6%). Prolificacy or mortality at birth was never affected by the ovulation induction treatments. In a third experiment, two groups of does [control group (n = 39): ovulation was induced using 20 μg of gonadorelin administered intramuscularly; treatment group (n = 40): ovulation was induced using 25 μg of [(des‐Gly10, d ‐Ala6)‐LHRH ethylamide added to the seminal dose] were inseminated at 42‐day intervals for five successive AI cycles, to test the response to the GnRH agonist after repeated intravaginal administration to the same animals. Fertility and prolificacy were not influenced by the ovulation induction treatment neither there was an interaction between treatment and parity. The last experiment was aimed to determine whether it could be possible to add the GnRH agonist to the semen in the AI Center, just after semen collection and dilution, or it would have to be added in the farm, immediately before AI. Kindling rates did not significantly differ when ovulation was induced by intramuscular injection of gonadorelin (84.5%) or when the GnRH agonist was added to the seminal dose just at the moment (93.8 %) or 24 h before AI (90.4 %), but it was significantly lower when the hormone was added to the semen 32 h before AI (76.3 %). Prolificacy, however, was not influenced by the ovulation induction treatment.     

ULTRASONOGRAPHIC DIAGNOSIS OF OVINE CYSTIC ECHINOCOCCOSIS

The sanitary and economic impact of cystic echinococcosis is serious in those countries where it becomes endemic. Ultrasonography is one technique that may be used to diagnose this disease in endemic areas. In parasitized sheep, hydatid cysts appear sonographically as a round hypoechoic structure. Twenty two sheep destined for slaughter were studied sonographically and imaging findings compared to post-mortem findings. Three sheep with hydatid cysts were identified. Eighty additional sheep not destined for slaughter were also studied. Echinococcus granulosus cysts were detected in three animals. Forty sheep from a non-endemic area had no hepatic cysts. The in vivo sonographic study of sheep provides a useful screening tool for echinococcosis.     

Bluetongue and Douglas virus activity in New South Wales in 1989: further evidence for long-distance dispersal of the biting midge Culicoides brevitarsis

SUMMARY: Infection of cattle with bluetongue and Douglas viruses was detected on the central and southern coast of New South Wales from January to April 1989. Bluetongue virus infection was found well south of areas of expected occurrence. Evidence is presented to support wind-borne dispersal of infected vectors, Culicoides brevitarsis , southwards from the Hunter Valley.     

Transfer of Free Vascular Cutaneous Flaps by Microvascular Anastomosis Results in Six Dogs

Skin defects on the distal extremities of six dogs were reconstructed with free vascular cutaneous transfers by microvascular anastomosis. The donor flaps were based on the superficial cervical artery and vein. In five of the dogs, bone was exposed and skin was lost from half of the circumference of the limb. Two had infected fractures with sequestra and three had acute shearing injuries. The sixth dog had sensory denervation of the left antebrachium and a carpal acral lick granuloma. Before surgery, the patency of potential recipient vessels was confirmed with arteriography in five dogs and an ultrasonic doppler in one dog. Microvascular technique was used to reestablish circulation to the flaps after they were transferred to the recipient site. Total ischemic time of the flaps averaged 100 minutes. All flaps survived. Successful reconstruction of the cutaneous defects was achieved in these six cases.     

DIFFERENTIATION OF NEOPLASTIC FROM NON-NEOPLASTIC LESIONS IN DOG BRAIN USING QUANTITATIVE CT

The uptake and washout of iodinated contrast medium in neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions in the dog brin was quantified using computed tomography. The magnitude of tissue contrast enhancement was measured during and up to 15 minutes following an intravenous infusion of contrast medium. Compartmental analysis was used to obtain rate contants for contrast medium movement into and out of brain lesions. In non-glioma tumors, contrast enhancement was maximum during the infusion and the rate of contrast washout was comparable to that measured in the normal brain. Mixed gliomas also showed maximum enhancement during infusion, but there was no washout of contrast. Contrast enhancement in radiation-induced brain damage and cystic encephalomalacia secondary to tumor compression continued to increase for 5–15 minutes after infusion; rate constants in these non-tumor lesions were different from all tumors studied. Hyperthermia-induced lesions had comparable rate constants for contrast washin and washout. These results indicate that kinetic CT studies provide a non-invasive measure of permeability differences between lesions, may be useful in differentiating certain types of intracranial lesions, and may provide an effective method for patient follow-up after treatment.     

COMPARISON OF TRANSCOLONIC 123I-IODOAMPHETAMINE AND PORTAL VEIN INJECTION OF 99mTc-MACROAGGREGATED ALBUMIN SHUNT FRACTION CALCU-LATIONS IN EXPERIMENTAL DOGS WITH ACQUIRED POR-TOSYSTEMIC SHUNTS

Shunt fraction was determined using transcolonic ¹²³I-iodoamphetamine (IMP) and portal vein injection of ^99mTc-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) in a group of eight dogs with chronic cirrhosis and acquired portosystemic shunts subsequent to total common bile duct ligation. Hepatic parenchymal damage was confirmed by alterations in liver function tests and liver histology. Seven of the eight dogs developed portal hypertension and had angiographic evidence of hepatofugal portal blood flow with multiple peripheral portosystemic anastomoses. Shunt fractions determined in the seven dogs with shunts varied from 39 to 100 using IMP and 45 to 93 using MAA. The remaining dog had normal portal pressure, a normal portal angiogram, and normal IMP and MAA scintigraphic studies. There was an excellent correlation between the two methods of shunt fraction calculation (R²= 0.98) and the line of regression was not significantly different from unity (IMP = 1.09 × MAA - 0.03).     

Morphology of alpaca (Vicugna pacos) embryos in the first third of pregnancy

The breeding of South American camelids is the main economic activity of the high Andean region of South America and it, is potentially, the most profitable resource in of the Puna environmental conditions of the Puna. The duration of the gestation in alpaca is 339.7 ± 12 days. The objective of the present work was to macroscopically and microscopically describe the ontogenic development of the splanchnic cavities of the alpaca and to determine the gestational time in which the post‐cranial ossification centers are observed in the embryos/fetuses of this species, from day 21 to 107 of gestation. The documentation of normal ontogenic development, which is vacant for this period, is of the utmost importance to understand the consequences of the alterations at the different gestational times, as well as for the estimation of the gestational age in the case of abortions. Forty‐seven alpaca specimens of both sexes, at different times of their gestational development, collected during slaughter at local slaughterhouses of the Department of Huancavelica, Peru, were evaluated. Specimens were assigned to seven groups according to their morphological characteristics. The embryogenesis in the alpaca was characterized by a series of changes comparable to those occurring in other mammals with similar gestational periods. Despite these similarities, species differences were found in some organs as stomach, which are observed too in adult individuals.     

Acute phase protein concentrations in retired racing Greyhounds

Background: Retired racing Greyhounds are popular as pets. Greyhounds have several differences in physiological values compared with other breeds, including lower serum α‐ and β‐globulin concentrations. We hypothesized that lower acute phase protein (APP) concentrations could contribute to lower α‐ and β‐globulin concentrations in this breed. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare serum concentrations of several APPs in Greyhounds with those of other dog breeds. Methods: We measured the serum concentrations of C‐reactive protein (CRP), haptoglobin (Hp), acid‐soluble glycoprotein (ASG), ceruloplasmin (CP), and serum amyloid A (SAA) in 15 clinically healthy retired racing Greyhounds and 11 age‐ and gender‐matched healthy nonGreyhound controls using previously validated methods. Results were compared by Student's t‐tests. Results: The concentration of Hp by both colorimetric and immunoturbidimetric methods was significantly lower in Greyhounds than in nonGreyhound dogs (P=.0009 and .019, respectively). The concentration of ASG was also significantly (P=.007) lower in Greyhounds, but CRP and CP concentrations were not significantly different between groups. SAA concentration was below the detection limit of the method in all dogs. Conclusions: The low serum concentrations of Hp and ASG should be taken into consideration when interpreting APP results in Greyhounds. Because both Hp and some ASG migrate in the α‐globulin fraction, these results may explain the low α‐globulin concentrations in Greyhounds.