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Pregnancy diagnosis in South American camelids (SAC) is commonly performed in early pregnancy about 30 to 45 days after mating. Due to embryonic mortality, it is advisable to confirm the pregnancy later. A laboratory analysis would be ideal for this confirmative test using samples which can be obtained by the breeders. Sampling of feces from the ground immediately after defecation would be both simple and convenient for the animal and breeder. Estrone sulfate which is synthetized by the placenta indicating pregnancy has been found in feces and used as marker for pregnancy in various animal species (e. g. pigs, primates).The objective of this study was to measure estrone sulfate concentrations in feces of SAC and assess if the fecal estrone sulfate concentrations are suitable for non-invasive pregnancy detection.Eighty-six mares (81 alpacas and 5 llamas) from different herds in Germany and Austria were sampled over a period of one year. The mares were selected by the breeders regardless the age, nutritional status or number of previous pregnancies. Of the 86 mares, 83.72% (72 mares) became pregnant and 16.28% (14 mares) remained non-pregnant despite being mated. All mares were sampled monthly. The fecal samples were analyzed in the laboratory using a commercial Estrone-3-Sulfate (E1S) Competitive Elisa Kit.The estrone sulfate concentrations in feces showed a wide variation over the entire sampling period and between individual animals. There was a significant difference in concentration at the end of pregnancy (14 d before parturition). Additionally, wide variations in estrone sulfate concentrations were also observed in the feces of non-pregnant mares. Consequently, the AUC characterizing the diagnostic value of fecal estrone sulfate concentration to detect pregnancy between days 60 and 150 was very low (0.455).It must be concluded that estrone sulfate analysis in feces as collected post defecation in this study failed to demonstrate any potential as a confirmatory method for pregnancy diagnosis in SAC. The increase at the end of pregnancy is unimportant for practical diagnostic procedures.

This article provides information and recommendations for the pre-purchase physical and laboratory examinations of South American camelids (SAC). It is strongly recommended to have a written contract between the potential buyer and the veterinarian before the examination detailing its form and focus including any tests. The pre-purchase examination subsequently leads to the production of a report describing the animal's signalment, history and the results of the examinations following the contract description. It may be necessary to involve the seller in this contract (e. g. if the animal is to be subjected to an examination that may put it at risk).SACs are used for various purposes (e. g. wool, tourism, animal assisted therapy) and the purpose desired by the purchaser will determine the scope of the pre-purchase examination. To allow this, a modular system is proposed so that, in addition to the general examinations (physical and laboratory) the appropriate clinical and laboratory findings can be compiled from various "special" examinations. Thus, in addition to the obligatory general physical and laboratory diagnostic examination, special examination protocols e. g. skin examination for animals that are primarily used for fleece production, full scale orthopedic examination in animals that will be used for hiking or examination for infectious diseases in animals that have close contact with humans can be chosen as part of the pre-purchase examination. The last mentioned may be of general importance depending on the signalment and history. Diagnoses can then be made in accordance with the proposed main use(s) of the animal.When taking on the assignment of a pre-purchase examination, the veterinarians have to guarantee that they possess the appropriate skills and experience and that the required equipment and laboratory access is available. Finally, the veterinarians must document the findings precisely in the final report and maintain absolute confidentiality.The authors of the present article have compiled recommendations on pre-purchase examinations and developed examination protocols. These protocols are made available for download as PDF files in German and English (https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at./ankaufsuntersuchung-neuweltkamele).

In contrast to human medicine, thymic disorders receive little attention as differential diagnoses in veterinary medicine. The aim of this overview is to provide information on the current state of knowledge concerning the topographical anatomy, physiological development, and involution, function, and diseases of the thymus as well as the diagnosis of thymic disorders in various domestic mammals. Therefore, literature on this topic was searched and summarized. The anatomical extent and developmental/involutionary processes differ significantly from species to species. The thymus reaches its maximum size at the beginning of sexual maturity whereas it is largely absent or persists in mere residual form in adult animals. Dogs and goats represent an exception, as functional thymus tissue may also be found in adults. Imaging is often difficult, depending on the size of the animal and the location of the organ. Due to the poor visualization and mostly unspecific clinical signs, disorders of the thymus pose a diagnostic challenge. The thymus may change in size and structure in response to stress or disease. This can lead to impaired immune function and subsequently to infectious diseases. Neoplasia of the thymus has been widely described in domestic mammals. Most reports are found for dogs and goats. Clinical signs usually appear when the tumor becomes space-occupying due to its size or they become apparent in consequence to the occurrence of paraneoplastic syndromes. These may for example include myasthenia gravis. More than 50% of dogs with a thymoma develop a paraneoplastic syndrome. With the availability of modern imaging, assessing the thymus may in future become simpler and may prove useful in evaluating the health status of young animals.

There is an increasing interest in, and demand for, care of the geriatric veterinary patient, and New World camelids are no exception. Rather than using an absolute age to define 'geriatric', behavioural, physiological and clinical signs are more useful, such as ability to maintain body condition and status in herd hierarchy. This article offers guidance on approach to geriatric care in llamas and alpacas, considering husbandry, routine management and common clinical problems.

A 19-year-old Oldenburg stallion was presented multiple times over the course of several months with recurrent colic signs. At each examination, an enlargement of the scrotum was noted, which could not be further specified by palpation and ultrasonographic examination. The increase in circumference was noted both on palpation and on inspection and the size remained unchanged throughout. No special findings were noted during the general examination and the special examination of the colic patient. A few months after the first onset of symptoms, a chicken egg-sized mass was palpated on the right testicle, extending dorso-laterally in the direction of the inguinal cleft. Due to the recurring signs and the loss of sperm quality (pathospermia), the stallion was hemicastrated with subsequent histopathological and immunohistological examination of the circumferential proliferation including the testicles and epididymis.

In South American Camelids (SAC), determining a suitable time point for mating poses challenges as females ready for conception do not show estrus signs or behavioral changes. Therefore, the applicability of measuring sex steroids in milk and vaginal cytology as non-invasive methods for monitoring ovarian activity was investigated.Samples were collected from a total of 10 alpacas (A) and 9 llamas (L) over a period of 4 weeks following parturition. The concentrations of progesterone (P4), estradiol-17β (E2) and total estrogens (GOE) in blood and milk were measured using radioimmunoassays after sample extraction. Vaginal swabs were prepared and evaluated according to the procedure routinely used in dogs.In A and L, the estrogen concentrations in milk were significantly lower than those in blood (E2 in blood: A: 11.1±2.9 pg/ml, L: 14.6±5.0 pg/ml; E2 in milk: A: 6.2±3.1 pg/ml, L: 7.9±5.8 pg/ml; GOE in blood: A: 120. 2±26.9 pg/ml, L: 143.7±45 pg/ml; GOE in milk: A: 57.1±16.1, L: 75.9±34.6 pg/ml), while the differences between the two species were not significant. The correlations between steroid concentrations in blood and milk were statistically significant in L, but not in A. While in L, correlations between estrogen concentrations and vaginal cytological parameters showed several statistical significances with p-values partly <0.01, in A only GOE in the blood was negatively correlated with the proportion of basal-/parabasal cells.P4 measurement in milk allows the detection of luteal phases in SAC with high reliability. Despite statistical significance, the correlations between estrogen concentrations in blood and milk were also too weak in L to estimate blood concentrations with acceptable accuracy based on estrogen concentrations in milk at the level of the individual animal. Vaginal cytology could in principle be suitable for the identification of the maturation phase of follicular waves in L. However, improvements of the methodology and further validation are warranted before its routine use.

Diagnostic imaging is an important part of the diagnostic approach in equine spinal ataxia especially with the cervical spine being commonly involved. The spinal cord may be affected by a variety of conditions including cervical vertebral malformations, osteoarthritis of the articular process joints or less commonly neoplasia. Advanced imaging techniques such as myelography are more accurate in diagnosing spinal cord compression and may be performed under general anesthesia in neutral, flexed and extended positions of the cervical spine. The use of ultrasound is non-invasive and allows ultrasound-guided injections in the area of the articular process joints and spinal nerve roots. Nuclear bone scan is widely used and is a highly sensitive, but not very specific modality. Scintigraphic changes in the equine cervical spine are influenced by age, breed and discipline and should be interpreted with caution. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine is the preferred imaging modality in companion animals, but its use is currently limited to ponies and foals due to the lack of availability of suitable equipment for larger horses. This review provides an overview of the literature on advanced diagnostic imaging for the equine cervical spine and the current state of knowledge regarding significant findings.

The aim of the study is to describe the situation concerning dystocia in cattle using a retrospective analysis of hospital data.1345 cases of cows with dystocia presented at a university obstetrics clinic between 2007 and 2019 were evaluated retrospectively. The age, breed or direction of use, causes for the difficult birth, the chosen intervention, complications that occurred and mortality rates were recorded. In addition, correlations between individual parameters were analyzed.29.9% of the affected cows were younger than 2.5 years and 49.0% were in their first parity. The most common causes consisted of the following: anomalies in position and posture (46.3%), large fetus (41.3%), uterine torsion (26.5%) as well as an inadequately opened cervix (19.3%). Missed miscarriage births occurred in 7.6% of cases. Uterine torsion particularly affected dairy breeds (p<0.0001) and cows between 2.5 and 3.5 years of age (p<0.0001). Large fruits (p<0.0001) and narrowing of the soft (p=0.0082) and bony birth canals (p<0.0001) occurred mainly in cows younger than 2.5 years and in beef breeds (p<0.0001). Cervical cuffs were most common in the age groups<2.5 years (18.5%),>2.5-3.5 years (19.7%) and>3.5-4.5 years (18.5%) and in the group of>6.5-year-old cows (20.6%) (p<0.0001). Twin pregnancy was most frequently detected in cows older than 6.5 years (p<0.0001).The cows' mortality rate amounted to 9.4%. When complications occurred during the procedure, the mortality rate was increased (p<0.0001). The mortality rate for calves after removal and caesarean section was 46.0%. The proportion of calves that survived was higher following conservative obstetrics than caesarean sections (p=0.005). 41.7% of the stillborn calves had been dead for a longer period of time.The data show that there is a need for optimization with regard to the prevention of problematic births. This applies in particular to the high proportion of excessively young cows with large fetuses. Avoidable risk factors include too early mating. The high proportion of calves that had been dead for some time suggests that numerous dystocias are recognized too late in the course of parity. The risk of missed miscarriage births should therefore be reduced by intensifying birth monitoring.

Feeding disorders in horses may have various underlying causes. A thorough clinical examination of the oral cavity is essential for clarification and is often supplemented by imaging techniques such as oral endoscopy, radiography, and computed tomography (CT) of the head. Sonographic examinations of the head and oral cavity are less commonly described diagnostic methods for the investigation of feeding disorders. This case report describes 2 horses presented to the clinic due to impaired feed intake. In both cases the radiographic examination of the head did not reveal any abnormalities related to the clinical presentation. However, in both cases ultrasonography of the tongue identified an abscess in the mid to caudal section of the tongue both via direct (oral) and an indirect (transcutaneous) approach. Both horses underwent surgical treatment via ultrasound-guided abscess drainage. In the first case, the procedure was performed orally under general anesthesia, while in the second case, it was conducted transcutaneously under sedation. Both horses recovered without postoperative complications and were able to resume normal feeding within a few days. Sonographic examination of the tongue proves to be a valuable and easy-to-use method for detecting lingual abscesses. Oral ultrasonography is particularly suitable for the assessment of the rostral and midsections of the tongue, whereas transcutaneous ultrasonography is advantageous for an examination of the middle and caudal portions of the tongue.

Since 28.01.2022, veterinary medicinal products must be used in accordance with the conditions of authorization (Regulation (EU) 2019/6, Article 106). This entails further restrictions on therapeutic freedom, e. g., with regard to dose deviations. To date, there is no data available in equine medicine on the scope of off-label use as any use deviating from the expert information for antibiotics, on the basis of which the feasibility of implementing the new regulations in Germany can be assessed.To collect data on the off-label use of antibiotics, a Germany-wide anonymous online survey was therefore conducted as a quantitative cross-sectional study, which included up to 105 questions. The survey was preceded by expert interviews and pilot surveys.A total of 111 equine veterinarians answered the survey in full. 88.3% (98/111) stated that they had used antibiotics off-label. Enrofloxacin, marbofloxacin, broad-spectrum cephalosporins, doxycycline and metronidazole were frequently repurposed. Approved drugs for horse such as gentamicin, potentiated sulfonamides, benzylpenicillin-procaine and oxytetracycline were also used off-label, often with regard to indication, dose interval and treatment duration. Antibiotics were usually used in higher doses, rarely prophylactically or for non-antibacterial purposes. Popular combinations were gentamicin with benzylpenicillin or with amoxicillin. Human medical antibiotics were rarely used.As this survey confirms, there is a frequent need for repurposing of antibiotics according to animal species and indication in equine medicine, which should be taken into account in future further regulations and the revision of the positive list. In many cases, special conditions in the infection process justify the off-label use of approved preparations for horses. This survey indicates that some dose revisions are to be recommended for antibiotics that have been used for decades and are approved as medicinal products for horses. As there are few financial incentives for pharmaceutical companies to do so, the creation of therapy guidelines for certain indications in horses could alternatively contribute to greater certainty in equine practice with regard to the justification of off-label use.