Australian Veterinary Journal最新文献

Introduction: The accessibility of veterinary services, particularly in rural and regional areas, has been a topic of international discussion for some time. Little is known about the current distribution and accessibility of veterinary services in Australia. This study aimed to find out what parts of Australia are affected by veterinary 'care deserts' to help better inform the current debate.

Materials and methods: Open geospatial datasets and open-source tools were used to model accessibility to veterinary services across Australia. Veterinary Service Locations were compiled from Overture Maps and augmented via the Google Places Application Programming Interface (API). Travel-time isochrones were generated with Valhalla using OpenStreetMap roads, and population exposure was assessed using GHSL data.

Results: Veterinary services were found to be geographically inaccessible to more than 250,000 Australians. The Northern Territory was the worst affected jurisdiction, with more than 20% of the population not having access to a veterinary clinic. Rural and regional suburbs were overrepresented as having veterinary care deserts.

Conclusion: Inaccessible veterinary services is a human equity issue, as well as an animal health and welfare concern. Poor veterinary coverage in rural and regional areas increases the risk of disease outbreaks and leads to preventable diseases and deaths in animals. Innovative solutions are required to improve veterinary services in Australia's care deserts.

This case report describes clinical and haematological findings suggestive of iron deficiency anaemia in two approximately 190-200-day-old, hand-reared, suckling bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus) at a single wildlife rehabilitation facility. Both exhibited microcytic, hypochromic anaemia, with serum iron concentrations measured later in the clinical course that were suggestive of iron deficiency. Although the aetiology remains unclear, factors such as low iron bioavailability in milk formula and lack of environmental iron are discussed. Due to the lack of validated reference intervals for this species and age group, these findings should be interpreted with caution. This report highlights the need for further investigation into iron homeostasis and anaemia in juvenile marsupials under human care.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of an essential oil, salicylic acid and zinc-based cream in the relief of pruritus not secondary to infectious pyoderma or ectoparasites and associated dermatological lesions.

Methods: Forty-one client-owned, otherwise healthy, dogs with chronic, noninfectious pruritus were enrolled in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial. Dogs were assigned to receive topical treatment using either the study or placebo cream daily for 14 days. Owners recorded pruritus scores using a visual scale (Pruritus Analog Visual Scale [PVAS]) in a daily diary. Severity of skin lesions was quantified before and after the trial using the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index - 4th Generation (CADESI-4) rubric. Baseline and post-trial blood counts and serum biochemistries were used to assess health and screen for any evidence of toxicity secondary to cream application.

Results: Fourteen-day course of treatment with the study cream was associated with 1.75x greater reduction in pruritus score compared to placebo. The reduction in pruritus was greater in the treatment versus placebo groups starting at day 9 of treatment and continued through day 14. Visible skin lesions improved with treatment but did not improve with placebo. Quality of life scores improved in both groups, but improvement was greater in the treatment group.

Clinical significance: The topical cream used in this study was a safe and effectives complementary treatment for the relief of pruritus and dermatological lesions in dogs.

A 9-year-old, male, entire domestic shorthair was referred for the investigation and treatment of a bilateral sacroiliac luxation and caudal ischial fracture secondary to a 3-m fall injury. The cat was found to have a complete, 360-degree urethral tear approximately 20 mm proximally from the external urethral opening. An end-to-end anastomosis was performed with four sutures and an indwelling urinary catheter, and the patient was discharged 9 days later. At the time of writing this report, the use of end-to-end urethral anastomosis to repair a complete 360-degree urethral tear secondary to pelvic fracture has not been previously reported.

Whether as pets or livestock, South American camelids (SACs) have grown in popularity in recent decades and are now widespread. Disease management is therefore becoming more important, for productivity and welfare reasons. Very few treatments are currently approved for these species, and none for the treatment of mange. Yet acariases are common in SACs and result in loss of productivity, poor animal welfare and sometimes death. Chorioptic mange is a known therapeutic challenge in several species. The present paper reviews and assesses the published protocols for treating this disease in SACs. No successful protocol was tested in more than one trial. Three treatment protocols demonstrated complete cure in all animals; they concerned 14, two and 25 animals, respectively. All the studies had several weaknesses, most prominently small sample size and unstandardised outcome assessment. Herd sample sizes ranged from two to 50 animals. Due to insufficient evidence, no definitive conclusions can be drawn. Several protocols show promising results; newer options should be tested.

Aim: The aim of this case series was to review clinical outcomes and complications associated with the use of inverted circular-linear hybrid external skeletal fixator constructs with the ring positioned proximally in order to stabilise fractures with short proximal fracture segments.

Materials and methods: The medical records of dogs and cats with proximal juxta-articular fractures managed using an inverted hybrid construct at three institutions between December 2008 and October 2023 were reviewed. Data regarding animals' signalment, fracture description, construct configuration, subjective assessment of reduction and alignment, time to fixator removal and functional outcome were recorded at the time of the last clinical evaluation or via a follow-up phone conversation with the owner. Restoration of alignment of the healed bone was objectively assessed after fixator removal by comparison of joint orientation angles between the fractured and contralateral bone.

Results: Twenty dogs and two cats underwent fracture stabilisation with an inverted hybrid construct, including 18 tibial fractures (82%), three humeral fractures (14%) and one femoral fracture (4%). Postoperative reduction and alignment was subjectively considered anatomic in six fractures, near-anatomic in five fractures and acceptable in 11 fractures. Median time to fixator removal was 4.5 weeks (range: 2-20 weeks). Pin or wire tract inflammation developed in nine dogs and was the primary complication occurring during the postoperative convalescent period. Owners of 16 animals were contacted by telephone 7-88 months (median: 37 months) following surgery. Fourteen of those animals had no lameness, whereas two owners reported that their dog had an occasional, subtle weight-bearing lameness. All owners were highly satisfied with the outcome of their pet's surgery.

Discussion: This descriptive case series illustrates the utility of novel inverted hybrid constructs for stabilising proximal juxta-articular appendicular long bone fractures in small animals.

Detomidine hydrochloride is an alpha₂ adrenoceptor agonist that is commonly used in equine practice to provide sedation and analgesia for horses undergoing standing procedures. Reported effects following intravenous administration of detomidine in horses include bradycardia, bradyarrhythmias, transient hypertension, sweating, piloerection and dose-dependent sedation, ataxia and analgesia. This case report describes a novel response characterised by tachycardia and profound muscle tremors following the administration of intravenous detomidine to a horse undergoing a standing procedure.

Objective: To determine if the use of an algorithm for guiding treatment of hypotension during general anaesthesia was effective in limiting the severity or duration of hypotension. The algorithm-guided treatment included both fluid therapy and pharmacological interventions.

Design: Retrospective before-and-after cohort study.

Setting: University teaching hospital.

Animals: Anaesthetised healthy dogs undergoing elective desexing surgery. The before period included 72 dogs and the after period included 81 dogs.

Methods: Anaesthetic records for the 2 years before and after the algorithm was introduced were searched. Inclusion criteria were cases that underwent surgery within the specified time periods. Data extracted included signalment, preanaesthetic tests, drug doses, anaesthetic duration, interventions for hypotension, mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate and temperature. Complications between the two time periods were compared.

Results: There was a greater proportion of female dogs in the after period. All other signalment details, preanaesthetic findings, drug doses and anaesthetic duration were the same. Hypotension defined as MAP <60 mmHg occurred in 65% of before and 74% of after cases. Hypotension duration was 40 ± 25.2 and 23 ± 16.9 min (P = 0.0001), and lowest MAP was 46 ± 8.2 and 51 ± 5.8 mmHg (P = 0.007) before and after, respectively. Hypothermia was less severe in the after period (P = 0.033). Algorithm use was associated with more frequent atropine use and lower cumulative volume of intravenous fluid administered.

Conclusions: Introduction of the algorithm significantly reduced the severity and duration of hypotension and the severity of hypothermia. The algorithm could be used by veterinarians to improve outcomes for dogs undergoing elective surgery.

Border disease viruses (BDV) and bovine viral diarrhoea viruses (BVDV) are members of the Pestivirus genus in the family Flaviviridae. While BVDV is one of the most significant endemic viral infections of cattle in Australia, BDV infection is generally considered to be uncommon in Australian sheep. This study describes the widespread detection of BDV on two properties in southern New South Wales following an investigation into poor pregnancy rates, resorbing foetuses and stillborn lambs. Extensive cross-sectional serological studies identified a high seroprevalence in some groups of sheep and low prevalence in others, demonstrating both the extent of infection and the number of susceptible breeding sheep remaining at risk. BDV-specific qRT-PCR confirmed BDV infection of stillborn lambs, and a large number of 'hairy' lambs were confirmed as BDV infected by use of a pestivirus antigen ELISA at marking. In a group of BDV persistently infected lambs that were monitored for 12 months, postweaning survival was low, with 21 of 120 still alive at 5 months of age and 14 still alive at 12 months of age. This study highlights the potential impact BDV can have on production and how management strategies, including breeding young primiparous ewes under intensive management conditions can result in large-scale virus transmission and disease.

Koalas are a native Australian species vulnerable to bushfire events, with 40,000 koalas estimated to have perished during the 2019-2020 summer bushfire event on Kangaroo Island. Determining the distribution and severity of burns is an important component in the treatment of burns in both human and veterinary patients. This project outlines the creation of a clinical chart to evaluate the surface area, distribution and severity of burns in koalas. This was achieved by three-dimensional computed tomographic segmentation to evaluate the surface areas of the whole koala and its external anatomy. The external anatomy was segmented into regions based on vulnerability to thermal injury. Segmentation and proportional surface area data are combined with an illustrated chart to create a chart-based triage tool. This clinical tool can be used to evaluate and document burn-affected surface area, distribution and severity to quantitatively inform prognosis and decision-making when triaging koalas during an Australian bushfire.