Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of respiratory tract pathogens from sheep and goats

OBJECTIVE: To determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of common respiratory tract pathogens from sheep and goats. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SAMPLE POPULATION: 41 respiratory tract isolates from sheep and 36 isolates from goats. PROCEDURES: Disk diffusion assay was used to determine antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftiofur, ciprofloxacin, florfenicol, and tetracycline. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of florfenicol for these isolates were determined by use of the microbroth dilution technique. RESULTS: The most common isolates were Pasteurella multocida (n = 28) and Mannheimia haemolytica (39). All isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftiofur, ciprofloxacin, and florfenicol. Five percent (4/77) of isolates were resistant to tetracycline. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Susceptibility of respiratory tract pathogens isolated from sheep and goats to commonly used antimicrobial drugs in this study was high. Treatment of these species for bacterial respiratory tract disease is likely not complicated by antimicrobial resistance.     

IMAGING DIAGNOSIS: MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF A CERVICAL WOODEN FOREIGN BODY IN A DOG

This article describes the discovery of a chronic cervical wooden foreign body ventral to the left transverse processes of the cranial cervical spine using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a dog that presented with chronic neck pain and lameness. The dog did not exhibit dysphagia or chronic draining tracts, the most common signs of the presumed cause, that of a penetrating oropharyngeal foreign body. The foreign body itself was represented on MR images as an oval straight-edged core within an inflammatory tissue reaction. The wood was slightly hyperintense on T2- and isointense on T1-weighted images relative to muscle. Surrounding this was a more conspicuous contrast-enhancing reactive tissue rim that was hyperintense on all pulse sequences. Adjacent musculature also exhibited diffuse edema and contrast enhancement that extended around the left cervical vertebral transverse processes and local intervertebral nerve roots. The foreign body was found to be a wooden stick upon surgical removal. MRI is an excellent method for visualizing the inflammatory tissue reactions associated with soft-tissue foreign bodies because of its contrast resolution and depiction of anatomy in multiple imaging planes.     

Equine chronic diarrhea: Traditional Chinese veterinary medicine review

Chronic diarrhea is a common problem in equine practice. Herbal medicine has been used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disease in horses for at least one thousand years. In present-day equine practice in China, the most common approach to treat chronic diarrhea is herbal medicine, or a combination of herbal medicine and acupuncture. Three types of chronic diarrhea in horses will be described in detail in term of symptoms, diagnosis and herbal treatments in this paper. Nineteen herbal formulas for treatment of different types of diarrhea will be introduced. Clinical results of each herbal formula will be evaluated. Acupuncture treatment of this problem will also be included.     

Parenteral Anticholinergics in Dogs With Normal and Elevated Intraocular Pressure

Dogs given parenteral anticholinergic drugs have been thought to be at risk for development or exacerbation of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). In a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study, we evaluated the effect of intramuscular glycopyrrolate (0.01 mg/kg) on pupil diameter and IOP in unanesthetized normal dogs. Treatment with glycopyrrolate did not change pupil diameter or IOP from baseline, nor were there differences between glycopyrrolate and saline-treated (control) dogs. In addition, the authors retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 2,828 dogs undergoing general anesthesia between April 1987 and September 1990 to determine if there was an association between parenteral anticholinergic medication and postanesthetic elevation in IOP. The authors also determined the frequency of bradycardia requiring anticholinergic therapy during anesthesia in dogs with glaucoma. Of the 2,828 cases reviewed, the records of 46 dogs coded for glaucoma were examined in detail. The 46 dogs underwent 62 episodes of anesthesia, with 23 episodes including exposure to an anticholinergic drug. An increase in IOP from preanesthetic to postanesthetic measurement occurred in three dogs. One of these dogs received anticholinergic medication for bradycardia during anesthesia. The postanesthetic elevation in IOP in this dog was probably not drug related. Preanesthetic anticholinergic administration did not affect the incidence of anticholinergic administration for bradycardia during the anesthetic episode. Anticholinergic therapy during anesthesia was more frequent when the preanesthetic medication included an opiate drug. These studies do not indicate an association between parenteral anticholinergic administration and elevations in IOP.     

EVALUATION OF THE VARIABLY OSSIFIED COLLATERAL CARTILAGES OF THE DISTAL PHALANX AND ADJACENT ANATOMIC STRUCTURES IN THE FINNHORSE WITH COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

Six Finnhorse cadaver forefeet were selected to represent radiographically different types and grades of ossification of the collateral cartilages of the distal phalanx. These cartilages and adjacent tissues were evaluated with computed tomography (CT) and high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In CT the internal structure of the cartilages was consistent, but in MRI some differences were noted. The shape of the collateral cartilages and their ligamentous attachments varied. The border between ossified and non-ossified cartilage appeared distinct, with considerable variation in the extent of the ossified area in regard to the cross-sectional area of the cartilage. Ossification originating from the palmar processes and extending in the proximaVpalmaroproximal direction, without separate centers of ossification, generally appeared smooth and inactive. Palmar ossification followed the irregular shape of the cartilage. Separate centers of ossification had a medullary cavity or were sclerotic. Presence ofamedullary cavity or sclerosis were also found at the base of the cartilages. The incomplete fusion lines between separate centres of ossification and the ossified base of the cartilage varied from congruent and inactive to reactive with marked sclerosis, flared margins and parachondral changes. Incomplete fusion may be clinically significant. Local conformational adaptations of the hoof were also documented with extensive ossification of the collateral cartilage.     

Evaluation of auditory evoked potentials to predict depth of anaesthesia during fentanyl/fluanisone−midazolam anaesthesia in rats

Objectives To assess a method for monitoring depth of anaesthesia using components of middle latency auditory evoked potential (AEP) waveforms during anaesthesia with fentanyl/fluanisone and midazolam. Study design Prospective observational study. Animals Five female Wistar rats weighing between 210 and 250 g. Methods Implanted electrodes were used to record AEPs in animals receiving five doses of anaesthetic. Recordings were made at 5 minutes post‐injection (deep anaesthesia; no pedal withdrawal response, PWR) and then at 25 minutes (light anaesthesia; strong PWR). Responses showed five characteristic peaks occurring at 11, 14, 23, 42 and 68 ms that were measured for latency of occurrence and peak amplitude. Results Auditory evoked potential peaks P14, N23 and P42 were increased significantly in latency with successive anaesthetic injections [avg. F(1,4) = 12.53, p < 0.001; avg. F(1,4) = 10.6, p < 0.001; avg. F(1,4) = 3.9, p = 0.02, respectively]. Peak N23 showed a significant reduction in latency during the 20 minute recovery period following both the first and second anaesthetic injections (t(3) = 7.52, p = 0.005; t(4) = 5.17, p = 0.007, respectively). Peak P42 occurred significantly earlier 20 minutes following the second anaesthetic injection (t(4) = 4.75, p = 0.009). The mean overall depth of anaesthesia assessed using PWR scores was significantly correlated with the mean latency of peak N23, such that as the strength of PWR increased, N23 occurred significantly earlier (r = ?0.99, p = 0.01). The amplitude difference between peaks N23 and P42 increased after the second and third drug administrations [avg. F(1,4) = 10.65, p = 0.031 and avg. F(1,4) = 11.24, p = 0.028, respectively]. Conclusion The characteristics of these peaks, and in particular latency of peak N23, may provide a useful tool for assessing depth of anaesthesia produced by this, and possibly other anaesthetic agents.     

Evaluation of Skin Bacterial Flora Before and After Aseptic Preparation of Clipped and Nonclipped Arthrocentesis Sites in Horses

Objective —This study evaluates skin bacterial flora before and after aseptic preparation of clipped and nonclipped arthrocentesis sites in horses. Study Design —The hair over one midcarpal joint and one distal interphalangeal joint on each horse was clipped. The contralateral joint served as the nonclipped comparison. Animals or Sample Population —Twelve adult horses. Methods —A prescrub sample for microbial culture was taken from the dorsal surface of all four joints for each horse. Each site was aseptically prepared with povidone iodine and 70% alcohol, followed by postscrub sampling for microbial culture. Colony forming units (CFUs) were determined for each sample, 24 hours after inoculation of blood agar plates. Results —There was no significant difference (P >.05) in number of postscrub CFUs between clipped and nonclipped skin over the midcarpal or distal interphalangeal joints. Percent bacterial reduction (mean ± SD%) after aseptic preparation differed significantly (P=.02) between clipped (99.8 ±.003%) and nonclipped (96.2 ±.05%) skin at the midcarpal joint, but not at the distal interphalangeal joint (clipped, 98.5 ±.03% and nonclipped, 97.8 ± 0.21%). There was a significant difference (P=.009) in number of prescrub CFUs obtained from clipped and nonclipped skin for the midcarpal joint. There was no significant difference in number of prescrub CFUs between clipped and nonclipped skin at the distal interphalangeal joint. Bacteria isolated from both clipped and nonclipped skin sampled postscrub included Bacillus sp, nonhemolytic Staphylococcus sp, and Micrococcus sp. Conclusions —The presence of hair over the midcarpal and distal interphalangeal joints does not appear to inhibit the ability of antiseptics to effectively reduce bacterial flora to an acceptable level for arthrocentesis. Clinical Relevance —Aseptic preparation of the skin over the midcarpal and distal interphalangeal joints can be accomplished without hair removal in horses.     

Fusarium verticillioides as a new pathogen of the parasitic weed Orobanche spp.

A strain of Fusarium verticillioides was isolated from the tubercles of the parasitic weed Orobanche cumana in Israel. The pathogenicity was tested in polyethylene bags on O. cumana, O. crenata, O. aegyptiaca and O. ramosa and in pots on O. cumana and O. crenata. F. verticillioides was highly pathogenic to O. aegyptiaca, O. ramosa and O. cumana in the polyethylene bags. In pots, the fungus caused wilting and necrotic areas on flowering shoots of O. cumana, but did not cause disease symptoms on O. crenata. F. verticillioides grown on liquid Czapek growth medium produced a phytotoxic metabolite, which in leaf-puncture bioassay caused large necrotic areas on Orobanche shoots and on leaves of various crops. An extract of the fungal growth medium caused complete mortality of O. cumana and O. aegyptiaca seedlings in vitro. The toxic metabolite was isolated and identified by spectroscopic methods as fusaric acid. The identity of the compound was confirmed by conversion into the corresponding methyl ester, and by TLC comparison against authentic fusaric acid. No other phytotoxic metabolites could be detected in the growth medium extracts.     

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF THE BRAIN OF NORMAL NEONATAL FOALS

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on gthe brain of 5 normal, anesthetized, neonatal (age 3-to-6 days) Quarter Horse foals. The objectives of the study were to develop a technique for imaging the brain of neonatal foals, and to ascertain their normal brain anatomy. Interavenous propofol was administered for induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. Using spin echo MR techniques, T1 weighted sagittal and transverse views, and spin density and T2 weighted transverse views were successfully made of each foal. MR images provided excellent visualization of many anatomic struictures of the brain and head. MRI of the bgrain is feasible for selected neonantal equine patients.