Short-term survival and mortality rates in a retrospective study of colic in 1588 Danish horses

Background

Outcomes of colic treatment are of great interest to clinicians, horse owners and insurers. One commonly used criterion of success is the overall short-term survival rate. This is used as to compare treatments and to measure quality of veterinary care, but may be biased by demographic or social factors such as attitudes towards animal suffering and euthanasia. The aims of this study were to 1) describe and analyse characteristics in horses with signs of colic referred to the University Hospital for Large Animals (UHLA), University of Copenhagen, Denmark over a 10-year period and 2) to compare these rates with those published in other comparable studies.

Results

The overall survival rate for colic horses over the 10-year study period was 68% (confidence intervals (CI): 66–71%; 1087/1588). In the medical group, 1093 horses, short-term survival was 87% (CI: 85–89%). Thirty one % of referred horses were given diagnoses requiring surgical intervention (CI: 29–33%). In this group 32% of the horses were euthanized before surgery (CI: 28–36%; 159/495). Of the surgical cases 27% (CI: 23-31%) were euthanized or died during surgery. Of the horses that recovered from surgery 25% died or were euthanized (CI: 19–32%; 48/189), while 75% survived to discharge (CI: 68–81%).

Conclusions

The short term survival rates of Danish horses with colic were similar or lower to those reported from other countries. Apart from variability of veterinary care, attitudes towards euthanasia vary among the countries, which may bias the outcomes. This study indicates that qualitative interview studies on owners’ attitudes towards animal suffering and euthanasia need to be conducted. Our opinion is that survival rates are not valid as sole indicators of quality of care in colic treatment due to selection bias. If the survival rates are to be compared between hospitals, techniques or surgeons, prospective studies including mutually agreed-on disease severity scores and a predefined set of reasons for euthanasia are needed.     

Use of structured antedependence models for the genetic analysis of growth curves

Growth curve analysis is an important issue for many agricultural and laboratory species, for both phenotypic and genetic studies. The aim of this paper is to present the use of a novel statistical approach, namely the structured antedependence (SAD) models, to deal with this issue. The basic idea of these models is that an observation at time t can be explained by the previous observations. These models are especially appropriate to deal with cumulative traits such as growth, as BW at age t clearly depends on BW measures at ages (t -1), (t -2), etc. These models were applied on an INRA experimental Charolais herd data set. The data comprised BW records for 560 cows born over an 11-yr period (from 1988 to 1998) from 60 sires and 369 dams. The proposed SAD models were compared with the well-known random regression (RR) models that are already widely used in various areas of longitudinal data analysis. It was found that the SAD models fit the growth process better with far fewer parameters than the RR models (9 instead of 16 covariance parameters for the phenotypic analysis, and 14 instead of 21 for the genetic analysis). Despite this smaller number of covariance parameters, the likelihood value was found to be much higher with the SAD vs. the RR models, with a difference of 262.9 for the phenotypic analysis with a quartic polynomial for the RR and 751.5 for the genetic analysis with a cubic polynomial for both the genetic and environmental parts of the RR model. The SAD models also proved to be better able to interpolate missing values. Heritability, genetic, and environmental correlation coefficients were estimated for weights from birth to adulthood. The structured antedependence models proved, in this study, to be very appropriate to model growth data in a parsimonious and flexible way.     

Rapid and simple mutation screening of G(M1) gangliosidosis in Shiba dogs by direct amplification of deoxyribonucleic acid from various forms of canine whole-blood specimens.

This report describes a rapid and simple method for mutation screening of G(M1) gangliosidosis in Shiba dogs by direct amplification of DNA from canine whole-blood specimens using a novel polymerase chain reaction (PCR) reagent cocktail, which can eliminate the DNA extraction process and amplify the genomic DNA directly from human or murine whole blood. The strategy of this mutation screening is based on the identification of a nucleotide deletion by restriction enzyme analysis, coupled with the direct PCR amplification. The target sequence of the canine beta-galactosidase gene could be amplified directly from various forms of canine whole-blood specimens, including anticoagulated blood, blood stored frozen for 1 year, dried blood held in filter paper for 1 year at room temperature, and dry powder of blood stripped from Giemsa-stained blood films, which had been prepared 10 years earlier, resulting in the determination of genotypes in all the specimens. This method simplified the molecular diagnosis and carrier screening of G(M1) gangliosidosis in Shiba dogs, making it simple to examine specimens from the large, widely distributed population of these dogs.     

Performance and meat quality of broiler chickens that are fed diets supplemented with Agaricus brasiliensis mushrooms

This trial was performed to study the use of the mushroom Agaricus brasiliensis as an alternative additive to antimicrobial growth promoters in broiler chicken diets and to assess the quality of the broiler chicken breast meat of birds that are fed diets containing this fungus. Thus, 595 1-day-old chicks were reared in reused poultry litter without anticoccidial and antimicrobial additives. The results showed that a concentration of 1.6 g mushrooms/kg diet was ideal for these birds because it provided better bird performance. When the birds’ immune system organs were analyzed, it was found that the addition of both mushrooms influenced the immune system organs of these broiler chickens. Adding A. brasiliensis to broiler chicken diets did not compromise breast meat quality.     

Short communication: detection and molecular characterization of hepatitis E virus in domestic animals of São Tomé and Príncipe

Tropical Animal Health and Production - As in most of the African continent, the status of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in domestic animals in São Tomé and Príncipe, an...     

Dietary roughage sources affect lactating Holstein x Zebu cows under experimental conditions in Brazil: a meta-analysis

Tropical Animal Health and Production - To reduce costs, lactating cows are often fed a higher proportion of roughage and alternative feeds; however, such protocols may not lead to optimal milk...     

Genetic diversity within two Tunisian wild jirds: Meriones shawi and Meriones libycus (Rodentia,Gerbillinae)

Three Meriones species inhabit Tunisia, namely M. shawi, M. libycus and M. crassus, but little genetic data exist on these gerbils. We collected Meriones from eight localities in Tunisia, and obtained mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and nuclear (IRBP) gene sequence data for 37 and 13 specimens, respectively, belonging to two species: M. shawi and M. libycus. We also optimised three microsatellite markers previously described in M. unguiculatus to obtain a finer analysis of their genetic diversity and geographic structure, given their wide distribution. Phylogenetic inferences of cyt b and IRBP data for these species, in the context of other gerbillin data, corroborate their taxonomic affinities reported by previous studies. High cyt b haplotype diversity was observed in both species (25 haplotypes in 29 and 27 sequences for M. shawi and M. libycus, respectively) with little geographical structure for M. shawi but three divergent groups in M. libycus. The average microsatellite diversity within each population was high (H_O ≥ 0.6, H_E ≥ 0.8) with M. libycus populations attaining the highest values. Population differentiation was moderate for several population pairs (F_st ≥ 0.1), the highest being between M. shawi populations. However, genetic distance among populations was not significantly correlated with geographic distance in either M. shawi or M. libycus. Our results contribute to a better characterisation of Tunisian Meriones species, suggesting high geographic structure in mtDNA of M. libycus populations within North Africa.     

Contraceptive effect and potential side-effects of deslorelin acetate implants in rats (Rattus norvegicus): Preliminary observations

During the last ten years, numerous species have been treated with deslorelin implants to induce contraception. The aims of the study were 1) to assess contraceptive efficacy of 4.7 mg subcutaneous deslorelin implants in rats, 2) to determine the latency of contraceptive effect, and 3) to determine potential side effects. Three experimental females were implanted and their estrous cycle was studied by vaginal smear. Two weeks after implantation, a male whose fertility was previously assessed with a control female, was introduced into their cage. No female conceived during the 4 mo following implantation. Additionally, 38 pet rats were recruited from clients in practice to test for potential side effects, including 6 males and 32 females with a mean age of 14 mo. Local reaction and transient weight gain during the first 2 wk, as well as behavioral changes were recorded. According to this pilot study, deslorelin implant could be used as a contraceptive method in female rats. The latency period is about 2 wk. Nevertheless, it might be possible to refine the treatment further using hormonal measurements. The duration of contraceptive effect is to be determined in an upcoming study.