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- Author or Editor: Wanda Gordon x
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Abstract
Objective—To ascertain the effectiveness of evaluating ground reaction forces (GRFs) at velocities during walking and trotting in dogs with naturally occurring lameness and determine whether walking would provide sufficient motion to adequately characterize GRFs with respect to trotting.
Animals—29 dogs with a naturally occurring tear of the cranial cruciate ligament.
Procedure—Dogs were walked and trotted over a force platform, and GRFs were recorded during the stance phase. Correlation was used to assess the agreement between walking and trotting for GRF. The coefficient of variation was calculated to assess the relative variation of outcome variables among the gaits. Group means for walking GRF were compared between dogs that trotted and that failed to trot.
Results—GRFs during walking and trotting were highly correlated. The coefficient of variation was smaller for GRFs during walking than during trotting. Dogs that failed to trot had significantly smaller mean values of peak vertical force and vertical impulse during walking, compared with values for dogs that were able to trot.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Either velocity is acceptable for GRF evaluation in dogs. Mean GRF during walking was significantly different between dogs that could and could not trot, principally because dogs with the most severe lameness failed to trot. These dogs would be eliminated from a clinical study, and thus, that study would become biased toward dogs that were less lame. In that situation, differences between interventions may be less pronounced, because they would be evaluated on dogs with less lameness. (Am J Vet Res 2003;64: 1479–1481)
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To determine the lifetime cost of 3 treatments for canine hip osteoarthritis: (1) conservative management, (2) femoral head and neck excision (FHNE), or (3) total hip replacement. We hypothesized that FHNE would be the least expensive treatment at all ages.
SAMPLE
Cost estimates from 11 private and academic referral centers from 8 randomly chosen cities across the US.
METHODS
Costs of surgeries were collected from practices in 8 US cities. The literature was used to determine expected postoperative costs. For conservative management, costs of pain medications and diet were obtained by use of online pharmacies. A 4.5% inflation adjustment was used for costs in subsequent years.
RESULTS
For a dog aged 1 to 7 years, FHNE had the lowest lifetime cost. Total hip replacement had the second lowest cost until age 4, after which conservative management was lower. For dogs > 8 years, conservative management was the most cost-effective.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
For dogs presenting with clinical signs at or under 1 year of age, the perceived benefits of total hip replacement may not be financially prohibitive if lifetime cost of care is considered. Femoral head and neck excision was also less expensive than long-term conservative management. This can help veterinarians inform owners on costs of treatments over the lifetime of their pet. This type of analysis is limited to financial costs alone and does not account for differences in outcomes, as these are not well established. It should be expanded in the future as better data on outcomes and impacts of care become available.
Abstract
Objective—To determine whether carprofen, a commercially available NSAID, would decrease perceived exertion and signs of pain in dogs and therefore increase muscle mass and hind limb function without decreasing range of motion after lateral fabellar suture stabilization.
Design—Randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trial.
Animals—35 dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture and lateral fabellar suture stabilization followed by rehabilitation.
Procedures—All dogs underwent surgical stabilization of cranial cruciate ligament rupture by placement of a lateral fabellar suture. Dogs received carprofen (2.2 mg/kg [1 mg/lb], PO, q 12 h) for the first 7 days after surgery and underwent concentrated rehabilitation exercises during weeks 3, 5, and 7 after surgery. Eighteen dogs also received carprofen (2.2 mg/kg, PO, q 12 h) during the weeks of concentrated rehabilitation. Outcomes were measured by a single investigator, who was blinded to group assignments, using pressure platform gait analysis, goniometry, thigh circumference, and mean workout speed at a consistent level of exertion.
Results—There were no differences between the 2 groups in ground reaction forces, thigh circumference, or exertion (mean workout speed) over time or at any individual time point. However, both groups improved significantly over time for all outcome measures.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Providing carprofen to dogs during concentrated rehabilitation after lateral fabellar suture stabilization did not improve hind limb function, range of motion, or thigh circumference, nor did it decrease perceived exertion, compared with control dogs. Carprofen was not a compulsory component of a physical therapy regimen after lateral fabellar suture stabilization.
Abstract
Objective—To determine the spatiotemporal gait characteristics and associated covariates of clinically normal dogs and dogs with spinal cord disease.
Animals—42 clinically normal dogs and 24 dogs with myelopathy at spinal cord segment T3-L3.
Procedures—Gait was analyzed for velocity, stride length, stride time, stance time, and swing time and compared between groups with consideration of covariates, including height, weight, velocity, sex, and age.
Results—By use of multivariate regression, dogs with neurologic signs, compared with clinically normal dogs, had decreased stride time, stance time, and stride length in the forelimbs and increased swing time in the hind limbs.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Use of spatiotemporal gait characteristics appears to have potential for use as an outcome measure for dogs with neurologic disease.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To measure the mitral annulus in dogs. Our hypothesis was that mitral measurement would be possible and consistent among observers using CT.
SAMPLE
Thoracic CT scans of dogs without known heart disease.
PROCEDURES
Five trained investigators measured 4 aspects of the mitral valve and the fourth thoracic vertebrae (T4) length using multiplanar reformatting tools. Ten randomly chosen animals were measured by all investigators to determine interobserver reliability.
RESULTS
There were 233 CT scans eligible for inclusion. Dogs weighed 2 to 96 kg (mean, 28.1 kg), with a variety of breeds represented. Golden Retrievers (n = 28) and Labrador Retrievers (n = 37) were overrepresented. The intraclass correlations were all greater than 0.9, showing excellent agreement between observers. The means and SDs of each measurement were as follows: trigone-to-trigone distance, 17.2 ± 4.7 mm; the remaining circumference, 79.0 ± 17.5 mm; commissure-to-commissure distance, 30.8 ± 6.5 mm; septal leaflet-to-lateral leaflet distance, 26.3 ± 6.0 mm; T4 length, 16.9 ± 3.1 mm; and the total circumference normalized by T4, 5.7 ± 0.7 mm.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
This study provides information that may help in the development of future treatment for mitral valve dysfunction and subsequent annular enlargement.
Abstract
Objective—To evaluate short-term postoperative forelimb function after scalpel and laser onychectomy in cats.
Design—Randomized, prospective study.
Animals—20 healthy adult cats.
Procedures—Cats were randomly assigned to the laser (n = 10) or scalpel (10) onychectomy group. Unilateral left forelimb onychectomy was performed. In the scalpel group, a tourniquet was used during surgery and a bandage was applied after surgery. Pressure platform gait analysis was performed prior to and 1, 2, 3, and 12 days after onychectomy. Peak vertical force (PVF), vertical impulse, and the ratio of the PVF of the left forelimb to the sum of the remaining limbs (PVF ratio) were used as outcome measures.
Results—The laser onychectomy group had significantly higher ground reaction forces on days 1 and 2 and significantly higher PVF ratio on day 12, compared with the scalpel group. Similarly, significant differences were found in change in ground reaction forces on days 1 and 2 and the PVF ratio on day 12, compared with day −1. No cats required rescue analgesia during the course of the study. One cat in the laser group had signs of depression and was reluctant to walk on day 2 after surgery, had physical examination findings consistent with cardiac insufficiency, and was euthanized.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Cats had improved limb function immediately after unilateral laser onychectomy, compared with onychectomy with a scalpel, tourniquet, and bandage. This improved limb function may result from decreased pain during the 48 hours following unilateral laser onychectomy.
Abstract
Objective—To compare 1-year outcomes after lateral fabellar suture stabilization (LFS) and tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) for the treatment of dogs with cranial cruciate ligament disease.
Design—Randomized blinded controlled clinical trial.
Animals—80 dogs with naturally occurring unilateral cranial cruciate ligament disease.
Procedures—All dogs were randomly assigned to undergo LFS (n = 40) or TPLO (40). Clinical data collected included age, weight, body condition score, history information, stifle joint instability, radiographic findings, surgical findings, and complications. Outcome measures were determined prior to surgery and at 6 and 12 weeks and 6 and 12 months after surgery, including values of pressure platform gait analysis variables, Canine Brief Pain Inventory scores, owner satisfaction ratings, thigh circumference, and stifle joint goniometry values.
Results—Signalment and data for possible confounding variables were similar between groups. Peak vertical force of affected hind limbs at a walk and trot was 5% to 11% higher for dogs in the TPLO group versus those in the LFS group during the 12 months after surgery. Canine Brief Pain Inventory, goniometry, and thigh circumference results indicated dogs in both groups improved after surgery, but significant differences between groups were not detected. Owner satisfaction ratings at 12 months after surgery were significantly different between groups; 93% and 75% of owners of dogs in the TPLO and LFS groups indicated a satisfaction score ≥ 9 (scale, 1 to 10), respectively.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Kinematic and owner satisfaction results indicated dogs that underwent TPLO had better outcomes than those that underwent LFS.
Abstract
Objective—To determine peak vertical force (PVF) and vertical impulse (VI) in cats that had or had not undergone bilateral forelimb onychectomy.
Animals—26 healthy adult cats.
Procedure—Onychectomized cats (n = 13) had undergone surgery more than 6 months prior to the study. The PVF and VI were collected from all limbs of each cat with a 2-m pressure platform walkway. Cats were allowed to walk at a comfortable velocity, and acceleration was restricted to ± 0.5 m/s2. Five valid trials were recorded for each cat with all trials collected in a single 1-hour session. All forces were normalized to and expressed as a percentage of the cat's body weight.
Results—Gait data were successfully collected in all cats. No significant difference was found for PVF or VI between cats that had or had not had onychectomy. Limb loads were greater in forelimbs than hind limbs for all trials. Mean PVF and VI in the forelimbs of cats in the nononychectomy group were 56.41% and 18.85%, respectively. Mean PVF and VI in the hind limbs of cats in the nononychectomy group were 50.22% and 14.56%, respectively.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Gait analysis was successfully performed in cats with a pressure platform walkway. The absence of differences in PVF and VI between the 2 groups of cats suggests that bilateral forelimb onychectomy did not result in altered vertical forces measured more than 6 months after surgery in cats. (Am J Vet Res 2004;65:1276–1278)
