Veterinary Record Open最新文献

Background: There is limited published information to guide the clinical management of bacterial meningitis/encephalitis in dogs.

Methods: This was a retrospective case series comprising 10 French bulldogs from two referral centres. The cases were diagnosed with bacterial meningitis/encephalitis suspected secondary to otogenic infection based on detection of abnormal fluid/soft tissue opacity within the middle/inner ear, associated meningeal/intracranial involvement through MRI, the findings of cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) analysis suggestive of sepsis and/or clinical improvement following antibiosis.

Results: Ten dogs were included (three female and seven male), with a median age of 60 months. Dogs presented with acute onset (median 2 days), progressive history of vestibular signs and/or intra-oral or cervical pain. Five dogs had gross signs of concurrent otitis externa. Common MRI findings included material within the tympanic bulla with adjacent meningeal enhancement. Analysis of CSF documented pleocytosis in all eight dogs, intracellular bacteria seen in three with positive bacteriological culture in two dogs. One dog was euthanised following diagnosis. Nine remaining dogs received antimicrobial therapy and six underwent surgical management. Three dogs treated surgically were neurologically normal within 2 weeks and the remaining three improved. Two dogs treated medically improved and one had complete resolution reported within a 4-week follow-up period. Study limitations include its retrospective nature and small sample size with minimal longer term follow-up.

Conclusions: Bacterial meningitis/encephalitis in French bulldogs can require both medical and surgical treatment to achieve a favourable outcome.

Background: Connections between the effects of pet ownership and exercise on mental health have previously been demonstrated in different populations. However, little is known about the potential effects of pet ownership and exercise on the mental health of veterinary professionals. Since these individuals have a high prevalence of poor mental health and suicide, while they deal with pets professionally, we investigated the impact of pet ownership, exercise and different types of pet ownership on this demographic group.

Method: Veterinary professionals over 18 years old answered an online questionnaire about pet ownership, exercise, mental health (including anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation) and mental health correlates. Regression models were used to identify variables significantly related to mental health outcomes.

Results: Of 1087 respondents, pet owners were more depressed than non-owners, while anxiety or suicidal ideation was not associated with pet ownership. Dog and horse owners were psychologically healthier (less anxiety, less suicidal ideation) than non-owners of these species. Veterinary professionals who ran regularly had lower anxiety and depression. Those who walked regularly and spent less time sitting experienced fewer depression symptoms.

Conclusions: Running, walking and avoiding prolonged sitting might protect the mental health of veterinary professionals. The type of pet owned may be an important factor in the relationship between pet ownership and mental health; however, generally, pet ownership was associated with worse mental health outcomes in this demographic group. Future studies should determine the causal nature of these relationships.

Background: Thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusions (TL-IVDEs) are a common spinal disorder in dogs, especially within chondrodystrophic breeds. Loss of deep pain perception is a well-documented negative prognostic indicator in dogs with TL-IVDE. The objectives of this study were to report the rate of return of deep pain perception and independent ambulation in surgically treated, paraplegic, deep pain perception negative French bulldogs with TL-IVDEs.

Methods: A retrospective case series of deep pain perception negative dogs with TL-IVDE presenting to two referral centres between 2015 and 2020 was conducted. Medical and MRI records were reviewed, including the following quantitative MRI changes: lesion length, extent of spinal cord swelling and severity of spinal cord compression.

Results: Thirty-seven French bulldogs met the inclusion criteria, with 14 of 37 (38%) regaining deep pain perception by the time of discharge (median hospitalisation 10.0 days [interquartile range 7.0-15.5 days]) with two dogs independently ambulatory (6%). Ten of the 37 dogs were euthanased during hospitalisation. Significantly fewer dogs (3/16, 19%) with L4-S3 lesions regained deep pain perception compared to 11 of 21 (52%) of dogs with T3-L3 lesions (p = 0.048). Quantitative MRI changes were not associated with the return of deep pain perception. After discharge, with a median 1-month follow-up period, an additional three dogs regained deep pain perception and five dogs became independently ambulatory (17/37 [46%] and 7/37 [19%], respectively).

Conclusions and clinical importance: This study adds support to the contention that the recovery of French bulldogs with TL-IVDE from surgery is poor compared with other breeds; further prospective, breed-controlled studies are indicated.

Background: Mushroom poisoning may result in a variety of signs ranging from mild, mostly gastroenteritis, to organ failure and death. To increase the knowledge of prevalence, treatment and outcome in dogs, information regarding mushroom ingestion was collected.

Materials and methods: This retrospective study analysed all inquiries of mushroom ingestion in dogs to the Norwegian Poison Information Center from 2011 to 2022. Mushrooms were identified by a mycologist or Norwegian-certified mushroom expert. Differences in mushroom species, clinical findings, treatments and outcome were evaluated.

Results: A total of 421 mushroom ingestions in dogs were included. The mushrooms were identified as non-poisonous in 45% of cases. The most frequently involved toxin group was gastrointestinal mushrooms, followed by muscarinic mushrooms and mushrooms containing isoxazoles. About 64% of cases were managed at home, 33% were hospitalised and received treatment, and 3% were observed by a veterinarian without treatment. The survival rate was 98.6%, with death occurring after ingestion of Amanita muscaria, Cortinarius rubellus, Amanita virosa, Clitocybe rivulosa and Inocybe sp.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated the importance of rapid and accurate identification of the mushroom. This could prevent delays in therapeutic intervention and avoid unnecessary treatment of these dogs. With early, correct identification of mushrooms, our results demonstrated a good prognosis for dogs after ingestion.

Background: Intussusception is a form of ileus of the intestines in which an oral intestinal segment slides into the adjacent aboral intestinal segment, causing obstruction of the bowel.

Methods: We analysed the medical records of 126 cattle with intussusception of the small intestine.

Results: Demeanour and appetite were abnormal in 123 cattle. Non-specific signs of pain occurred in 26.2%, signs of visceral pain in 46.8% and signs of parietal pain in 56.4%. Intestinal motility was decreased or absent in 93.7% of the cattle. The most common findings of transrectal palpation were rumen dilation (37.3%) and dilated small intestines (24.6%). In 96% of the cattle, the rectum was empty or contained little faeces. The principal laboratory findings were hypokalaemia (89.6%), hypocalcaemia (76.5%), base excess (72.9%), hypochloraemia (71.8%), azotaemia (62.1%) and haemoconcentration (61.1%). The main ultrasonographic findings were reduced or absent intestinal motility (98.2%) and dilated small intestines (96.0%). A diagnosis of ileus was made in 87.8% and a diagnosis of ileus attributable to intussusception was made in another 9.8%. Right-flank laparotomy was carried out in 114 cattle. Fifty-six (44.4%) cows were discharged.

Conclusions: Clinical findings of intussusception in cattle are often non-specific. Ultrasonography may be required to diagnose ileus.

Background: The aims of this retrospective study were to estimate interobserver agreement in detecting disc calcification with computed tomography (CT) and to compare the number of calcified intervertebral discs identified on CT and radiography in healthy British Dachshund dogs that underwent a screening programme. The current screening programme uses radiography to identify calcified intervertebral discs.

Methods: Healthy Dachshunds aged between 2 and 5 years presenting for spinal radiography and CT as part of a disc scoring scheme were included. The spinal radiographs were scored by an independent assessor as per the screening programme protocol. The CT images were blinded and reviewed by three different observers of differing levels of experience. The number of discs identified as being calcified was then compared between imaging modalities and between observers.

Results: Thirteen dogs were included. Overall, 146 calcified discs were identified by CT compared with 42 by radiography. There was an almost perfect agreement among the three observers identifying calcified discs with CT images (k = 0.92). There was a significant difference between the radiography scores and CT scores.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated a significant difference in the number of calcified intervertebral discs identified in the vertebral column of a small population of healthy Dachshunds between CT and radiography. Given the high agreement between the observers with CT, this may be a reliable method for assessing disc calcification in Dachshund dogs and could be a good candidate for future breeding schemes.

Background: Low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has gained increasing importance to monitor equine tendon lesions. Comparing results between studies and cases is hampered, because image analysis approaches vary strongly. This study aimed to improve reliability, comparability and time efficiency of quantitative MRI image analysis.

Methods: Induced tendon lesions were studied over a 24-week period with 10 follow-up MRI examinations. Signal intensities (SIs) of tendons, tendon lesions, cortical bone and background, as well as lesion cross-sectional areas (CSAs) were measured. Lesion SI standardisation with different formulas was evaluated, using histological findings as reference. Different types of region of interest (ROI) for lesion SI measurement were compared. Lesion CSA measurement at different levels was evaluated, using the calculated total lesion volume as reference. Subjective lesion identification and manual CSA and SI measurements were compared to an automated, algorithm-based approach.

Results: Lesion SI standardised using a quotient of lesion and background or cortical bone SI, correlated best with histologically determined lesion severity. Lesion SI in circular ROIs correlated strongly with lesion SI in free-hand whole-lesion ROIs. The level of the maximum lesion CSA shifted over time; the CSA maximum correlated strongly with lesion volume. In sequences with short acquisition time, algorithm-based automated lesion detection showed almost perfect agreement with subjective lesion identification. Automated measurement of CSA and SI was also feasible, with stronger correlation and better agreement with the manually obtained data for the SI than for the CSA.

Conclusion: Our study may provide guidance for MRI image analysis of tendon healing. Reliable image analysis can be performed time-efficiently, particularly regarding lesion SI quantification.

Purpose: To assess the capability of deep convolutional neural networks to classify anatomical location and projection from a series of 48 standard views of racehorse limbs.

Materials and methods: Radiographs (N = 9504) of horse limbs from image sets made for veterinary inspections by 10 independent veterinary clinics were used to train, validate and test (116, 40 and 42 radiographs, respectively) six deep learning architectures available as part of the open source machine learning framework PyTorch. The deep learning architectures with the best top-1 accuracy had the batch size further investigated.

Results: Top-1 accuracy of six deep learning architectures ranged from 0.737 to 0.841. Top-1 accuracy of the best deep learning architecture (ResNet-34) ranged from 0.809 to 0.878, depending on batch size. ResNet-34 (batch size = 8) achieved the highest top-1 accuracy (0.878) and the majority (91.8%) of misclassification was due to laterality error. Class activation maps indicated that joint morphology, not side markers or other non-anatomical image regions, drove the model decision.

Conclusions: Deep convolutional neural networks can classify equine pre-import radiographs into the 48 standard views including moderate discrimination of laterality, independent of side marker presence.

Background: This study involving non-compliant, seized dogs entering the UK surveyed endoparasites detected in faecal samples. A focus was placed on taeniid infection as the detection of these tapeworms acts as a marker for failure of effective tapeworm treatment.

Methods: Individual faecal samples taken from 65 dogs over a 24-month period were examined for helminth eggs, for protozoal oocysts and cysts, using a centrifugal flotation technique. Any sample presenting positive results for taeniid eggs had residual faeces examined using polymerase chain reaction to aid speciation of the tapeworm eggs. Additionally, a Baermann technique was used to assess faeces for lungworm larvae.

Results: Patent endoparasite infection was detected in 27.7% of dog faecal samples. No sample was positive for lungworm larvae. Five dogs were co-infected with Isospora spp. and Toxocara canis. One dog sample was detected with taeniid eggs, identified as Taenia serialis.

Conclusions: The taeniid-positive dog indicated that appropriate tapeworm treatment may not have occurred, reinforcing the risk to the UK of illegally imported dogs potentially introducing Echinococcus multilocularis infection.

Background: Choke (oesophageal obstruction) is an important oesophageal disorder in large domestic animals. Published studies on choke in the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) are few in number and deal with small number of cases.

Methods: Sixty-four camels with choke were presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, King Faisal University. History, breed, age, sex, duration of obstruction and clinical signs were recorded. The diagnosis was established using examination with a stomach tube, oesophageal radiography and endoscopy. Choke was managed either by using alligator forceps guided endoscope or by cervical oesophagotomy.

Results: Choke was recorded in camels less than 1 year old (84.38%) more than camels more than 1 year of age (15.62%) and complete obstruction more than partial. Most cases had obstruction involving the cervical oesophagus (96.87%). In the majority of obstructive masses, there were pieces of fabric (48.44%) and plastic bags (35.94%). Most obstructive masses were slightly radio-opaque (62.5%). Surgical and non-surgical managements were effective (91.3% and 94.44%, respectively) in resolving the choke.

Conclusions: Choke was most likely in animals less than 1 year of age with complete obstruction of the cervical oesophagus. Surgical and non-surgical methods were effective in resolving the choke in the dromedary camels. It was not practical to use forceps extraction in all adult camels due to the limited length of the alligator forceps.