Evaluation of hemostatic derangements associated with canine anaphylaxis and the relationship to syndrome severity

Objective

To describe hemostatic derangements associated with canine anaphylaxis and to assess for association with syndrome severity.

Design

Prospective observational study.

Setting

University teaching hospital.

Animals

Twenty-seven client-owned dogs, recruited from November 2018 to January 2022, diagnosed with anaphylaxis of varying severity were included. Study inclusion required presentation <6 hours after initiation of clinical signs, no medications or history of illness within the prior 2 weeks, lack of comorbidities expected to affect hemostasis, and lack of a disease state that could alternatively explain the clinical presentation.

Interventions

Blood samples were collected within the first hour of presentation for CBC, serum biochemistry, prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and viscoelastic coagulation testing for use with a cartridge-based point-of-care device.

Measurements and main results

Clotting time and clot formation time were prolonged, alpha angle and maximum clot firmness were decreased, PT and aPTT were prolonged, and platelet counts were lower in severe cases compared to mild and moderate cases. There were no differences for any parameter between mild and moderate cases. The presence or absence of abdominal effusion was not associated with hemostatic status.

Conclusions

Global hemostatic derangements consistent with hypocoagulability are a prominent feature of severe anaphylaxis in dogs and should be considered for routine evaluation.     

A study of the interaction between bromocresol green dye and bovine,ovine and equine serum globulins

In human medicine it has been shown that the bromocresol green (BCG) dye-binding method for the determination of serum albumin is not entirely specific, the dye reacting also with certain human serum globulins. This causes over-estimation of albumin when reaction times are prolonged beyond 30 seconds.In the present study, serum albumin values obtained from three animal species by the immediate, i.e. less than 30 seconds, BCG reaction were compared with those by the 10-minute BCG reaction. Albumin-depleted sera were prepared using an affinity chromatography technique and their reactions and those of purified gamma globulin preparations with the dye were studied.In cattle, sheep and horses, serum albumin values obtained by the 10-minute reaction were higher than those obtained by the immediate BCG reaction, the differences being statistically significant. Purified gamma globulin did not react with the BCG dye after 10 minutes, but other globulins did. There were differences between the species in the magnitude of the reaction of their globulins with BCG dye.     

Prevalence of equine sarcocystis in British horses and a comparison of two detection methods

Sarcocystis was detected in oesophageal samples from 245 (62 per cent) of 394 horses and ponies killed at a Cheshire abattoir between February and August 1981. Prevalence of infection was closely related to age, increasing from 28.6 per cent of animals up to two years old to 88.9 per cent of those over eight years old. There were no significant regional differences in prevalence between horses from north west England, Yorkshire or South Wales. Significantly more female horses were infected (69.7 per cent) compared with males (56.2 per cent). Gross examination methods detected fewer than 55 per cent of all infections compared with a tissue digest method. Sarcocysts ranged from 1 to 15 mm in length (mean 5.5 mm) and were up to 0.5 mm wide. Cyst wall morphology and bradyzoite dimensions suggest that the species involved is Sarcocystis bertrami (syn equicanis).     

Pharmacokinetics of sulfamethazine in male, female and castrated male swine

The concentration of sulfamethazine in plasma and sulfamethazine and its metabolites in urine were compared in male, female and castrated male swine. A surgical technique for placement of catheters in the urinary bladder was used to facilitate the collection of urine in males and castrated males. The elimination rate of sulfamethazine from plasma and the excretion of parent drug and metabolites into urine did not differ significantly among females, males and castrated male swine.