Effects of Surgical Wound Infiltration with Bupivacaine on Postoperative Analgesia in Cats Undergoing Bilateral Mastectomy

The analgesic effect of wound infiltration with bupivacaine was evaluated in cats undergoing bilateral mastectomy. Twenty-one female cats with mammary gland tumors were anesthetized with propofol and oxygen-isoflurane anesthesia following premedication with atropine. In the trial group (Group I; n=11), 30 ml of saline containing 2 mg/kg of bupivacaine was infiltrated topically into the surgical wound right after removal of the mammary glands, whereas only saline solution was infiltrated in the control group (Group II; n=10). At the same time, carprofen (4 mg/kg) was also administered subcutaneously in both groups. Behavioral signs of pain were monitored during the recovery period after general anesthesia. In order to examine the behavioral changes associated with acute pain, a questionnaire was prepared and given to the owners to be completed 4 hr and then 10 hr after the operation. According to the owners’ anwers to the questionnaire, a pain score was specified using a “numerical rating scale” for each cat. Although some cats showed mild to moderate pain, the pain score recorded at 4 hr after the operation was significantly lower in Group I (P<0.001). No significant difference was found at 10 hr after the operation between the groups. The incidence of vocalization, aggression and convulsion within 2 hr after the operation was also lower in Group I. In conclusion, wound infiltration with bupivacaine before incisional closure provided reliable analgesia at least 4 hr after bilateral radical mastectomy in cats.     

Suspected venous air embolism in three horses

Venous air embolism was suspected in 3 hospitalised horses on the basis of an inadvertently open jugular venous line. Subsequently the 3 horses developed clinical signs including cardiovascular collapse, cardiac dysrhythmia, pulmonary oedema, behavioural abnormalities and neurological signs consistent with central nervous system injury. Treatment included intranasal oxygen therapy, i.v. fluid administration and anti‐inflammatory therapy. Specific therapy aimed at treating air embolism in man is reviewed, with pertinent therapy potentially applicable to horses emphasised.     

Veterinary aspects of ecological monitoring: the natural history of emerging infectious diseases of humans,domestic animals and wildlife

Proliferation of disease pathogens capable of affecting humans, domestic livestock and wildlife increasingly threatens environmental security and biodiversity. Livestock and wild animals in proximity to human beings are often in the chain of transmission and infection. Globalization of industrial livestock production (especially poultry upon which so much of the burgeoning human population depends) often permits transcontinental disease spread. Rapidly expanding (and often illegal) international trade in wild and domestic animals and their products are increasingly involved in the emergence of new diseases that may have the ability to transmit among humans, livestock and wildlife. Rapidly increasing urbanization has led in many places to overcrowded townships that rely on “bushmeat” for sustenance and has contributed to the emergence of virulent zoonotic pathogens. The emergence and proliferation of pathogens are exacerbated by anthropogenic transformation of natural landscapes in order to increase agricultural and livestock production. This paper posits that data gathered by veterinary ecologists should be interpreted and used by other disciplines. The importance of a thorough knowledge of the “natural history” (ecology) of the disease agent and its human, domestic and wild hosts is stressed.     

SYSTEMATIC TESTING OF QUALITY IN GRASS VARIETIES

The degree of precision obtained In the quality testing of grass varieties under two systems of management was examined (1) in a single cut, (2) under a system of proportionate bulking of produce from individual cuts during a season, and (3) after pooling two seasons' data from two centres.
Crude protein, crude fibre, soluble carbohydrate, and in vitro digestible dry matter were determined. The components of variance were analysed and in the data from single cuts varietal differences in digestibility of 2.10 were significant (P=0.05). Using data from two seasons at two centres, a high degree of precision was obtained for all attributes in a grazing management system and varietal differences in digestibility of 1.25% were significant.
Variation due to location and season was greater in hay cuts taken 10 days after ear emergence. In both systems varieties differed more in soluble carbohydrate content than in the other chemical components.     

Virulence and lienotoxicity of Bordetella bronchiseptica in mice

Whole-cell suspensions (WCSs) and cell-free sonicated extracts (SEs) of seven Bordetella bronchiseptica strains were studied for lethality and lienotoxicity in mice. Lethality was assessed after intravenous and intracerebral inoculation, and lienotoxicity by splenic atrophy after intravenous inoculation. The strains represented phase I isolates with or without cytotoxin production, their phase III subcultures and a phase IV variant. The lethality and lienotoxicity of the SEs were in close positive correlation with cytotoxin production. The WCSs of all phase I strains were lethal, irrespective of their cytotoxin- and lienotoxin-producing ability. The only difference was that cytotoxic phase I strains caused splenic atrophy while the noncytotoxic phase I strain induced splenic hypertrophy in the surviving mice. The WCSs of phase III and IV variants were non-lethal and caused splenic hypertrophy even though all but one of them showed some cyto- and lienotoxic activity when their SEs were tested. The results indicate that B. bronchiseptica possesses two different mouse lethal factors: one seems to be identical with the cytotoxin, the other is associated with cell integrity and viability and, presumably, propagation in vivo. It also follows from the results that only the SEs are suitable for accurate determination of the lienotoxin-producing ability of B. bronchiseptica.     

Electroencephalographic observation on sheep and cattle with experimental cerebrocortical necrosis

Nine Suffolk sheep and 4 Holstein cattle were employed to observe electroencephalographic changes in experimental cerebrocortical necrosis. Amprolium (600 mg/kg/day) alone was given intraruminally 6 sheep and 4 cattle, all of which showed neurological signs and abnormal electroencephalograms. Both amprolium and thiamine (200 mg/day) and thiamine (50 mg/day) alone were given 2 and 1 sheep, respectively, as controls, which did not show any abnormal signs. Abnormal electroencephalograms included continuous slow waves and long-lasting spindles, both of which appeared diffusely and were seen subclinically or with neurological signs. The spindles consisted of slow waves or sharp- (or spike-) and-slow-wave complexes with or without convulsive seizures even during the convulsion stage. Conversely, the seizures occurred with the spindles or slow waves.     

Vitamin K-dependent multifactor coagulopathy in Devon Rex cats

A coagulopathy attributable to a deficiency of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors (II, VII, IX, and X) was diagnosed in 3 Devon Rex cats. There was no evidence for exposure to vitamin-antagonist-related rodenticides. The cats did not have evidence of hepatic disease, gastrointestinal disease, or fat malassimilation. Oral treatment with vitamin K1 resulted in normalization of clotting factor concentrations. However, when treatment was discontinued in 2 cats, prothrombin and activated partial thromboplastin values became prolonged again, although the cats did not have clinical signs of a bleeding disorder.     

The use of monoclonal antibodies in an enzyme immunospot assay to detect isotype-specific antibody-secreting cells in pigs and chickens

Monoclonal antibodies directed against porcine immunoglobulin isotypes G, G1, G2, M, and A and against chicken immunoglobulin isotopes G, M, and A were tested in an antigen-specific spot-forming cell (SFC) assay based on the principle of the enzyme immunoassay. The SFC assay was used to quantitate ovalbumin (OA)-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASC) in pigs that had been primed and boosted with OA. The SFC assay was also used to quantitate trinitrophenyl (TNP)-specific ASC in chickens that had been primed with TNP-conjugated keyhole lympet haemocyanin (TNP-KLH). Although, the classical plaque-forming cell (PFC) assay cannot reliably detect isotope-specific ASC in pigs and chickens, it can detect these cells in mice. Therefore, we compared the OA- and TNP-specific SFC assays with PFC assays that were specific for these antigens in mice. The study demonstrated that the SFC assay is superior to the PFC assay in detecting both OA-specific ASC and TNP-specific ASC. The frequencies of OA-specific and TNP-specific SFC detected in mice were of the same order of magnitude as those detected in pigs and chickens. We concluded that the SFC assay is the better method for quantitating ASC in pigs, chickens, and probably all domestic animals for which isotype-specific monoclonal antibodies are available.