Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 10 of 11 items for
- Author or Editor: Barbara E. Straw x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Summary
During an investigation of poor growth performance, rate of weight gain and feed efficiency were studied in pigs with pneumonia. During the study, pigs either were housed in an improved environment or remained at their home farm. In both environments, rate of gain tended to decrease in association with increasing severity of pneumonia. When pigs with similar extent of lung lesions were compared, growth performance of pigs housed in the improved environment was better than that of pigs on the home farm. However, growth performance of pigs with pneumonia affecting > 20% of lung tissue was equally poor in either environment. When type of housing and extent of pneumonia were included in a model for analysis of variance, housing had a highly significant (P = 0.003) effect on rate of gain, and pneumonia had a nonsignificant effect.
Summary
Diarrhea caused by Campylobacter spp-induced enteritis was observed in pigs that were part of a pneumonia study. Growth rate, feed conversion, and daily health status had been recorded for each pig in the trial. Because diarrhea was the only clinical sign of disease that developed in the control group of pigs, and no other diseases were detected in these pigs at slaughter, it was possible to examine the effect of diarrhea on growth rate and feed efficiency. During the course of the study, 6 of the 16 control pigs had severe diarrhea, 2 were moderately affected, and another 8 were slightly affected or remained clinically normal. Compared with the mean values for each pig, feed intake and daily weight gain were reduced in the week preceding the appearance of clinical disease, but not during the time when diarrhea was observed. Overall performance of pigs with severe diarrhea was not different from that of pigs that were not affected.
Abstract
Objective—To determine types and doses of injectable medications given to periparturient sows and reasons for administering those medications, and to compare medication practices among farms of different sizes.
Design—Survey.
Sample Population—301 farms; 231,016 periparturient sows.
Procedure—A survey was used to obtain information regarding medications given to sows during the farrowing period. State and federal veterinary medical officers completed surveys during their final interview with producers who had participated in the National Animal Health Monitoring System's (NAHMS) Swine 95 study. Data were summarized and treatment regimens compared among farms of different sizes.
Results—More than a third of the sows received medications during the farrowing period. The most common reasons for administering medications were routine preventive treatment and treatment of dystocia, uterine discharge, and poor appetite. The most commonly used medications for treatment of sick sows were oxytocin, procaine penicillin G, and B vitamins. A high percentage of medications were either not indicated for the specific condition or used at greater or less than the approved dose. In general, treatment rates and medications used did not differ among farms of different sizes.
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Better treatment protocols are needed to provide more appropriate treatment of sick sows. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2000;216:510–515)
Objective
To compare mortality and growth rates of pigs subjected to continuous or limited crossfostering.
Design
Prospective study.
Animals
80 litters containing 879 pigs.
Procedure
In half of the litters, crossfostering was limited to the first 2 days of life. In the other litters, pigs were crossfostered throughout the lactation period to maintain uniform body weights within litters.
Results
Restricting crossfostering to the first 2 days of life resulted in a 20% increase in body weight at weaning, compared with crossfostering throughout the nursing period. Mortality rates did not differ between the limited and continuous crossfostering groups.
Clinical Implications
The emphasis placed on reducing variation of body weights within litters is unwarranted and veterinarians should advise limiting crossfostering to the first 2 days of life. Excessive crossfostering late in the nursing period may be identified by low within-litter SD of mean body weight. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 1998; 212:855-856)
Summary
Medical records of 15 dogs with infiltrative lipoma, 1 of which had 2 lesions, were reviewed. Median age of affected dogs was 6.0 years, and median weight was 30.5 kg. The ratio of females to males was 4:1. Eight of the dogs were Labrador Retrievers. In 8 dogs, the lesions had previously been excised. There was not any apparent site predilection. Excision was the only treatment in all 15 dogs, and follow-up information was available for all dogs. Two dogs, each of which had 1 tumor, were euthanatized immediately after surgery, because the tumor could not be completely excised. Of the remaining 14 tumors, 5 (36%) recurred. Median time to recurrence for these 5 tumors was 239 days (range, 96 to 487 days). By means of Kaplan-Meier analysis, the percentage of dogs disease free 1 year after surgery was calculated to be 67%.
Objective
To determine results of surgery for treatment of soft-tissue sarcomas in dogs and to identify prognostic variables that can be used to predict outcome.
Design
Retrospective case series.
Animals
Dogs with soft-tissue sarcomas that had surgical treatment only.
Procedure
Records were examined for clinically relevant data. Histologic samples were reviewed. Follow-up information was obtained by physical examination or telephone conversations with referring veterinarians or owners.
Results
75 dogs with soft-tissue sarcomas of the trunk and extremities were identified. Median age was 10.6 years. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors were of a significantly lower grade than other tumors. Tumors recurred locally in 11 of 75 (15%) dogs. Evaluation for lack of tumor cells at surgical margins was prognostic for local recurrence. Metastatic disease developed in 13 of 75 (17%) dogs. Tumor mitotic rate was prognostic for development of metastasis. Twenty-five of 75 (33%) dogs died of tumor-related causes. Percentage of tumor necrosis and tumor mitotic rate were prognostic for survival time. Median survival time was 1,416 days.
Clinical Implications
On the basis of a low local recurrence rate and high median survival time, wide excision of tumor margins or radical surgery appeared to be an effective means for managing soft-tissue sarcomas of the trunk and extremities. Analysis of histologic characteristics for prognosis supported use of preoperative biopsy. Surgical margins should be evaluated, and early use of aggressive surgery is indicated in the management of soft-tissue sarcomas in dogs. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 1997;211:1147–1151)
Summary
Medical records of 25 dogs with histologically low-grade fibrous masses of the maxilla and mandible were reviewed. Most of the dogs had extensive clinical histories and had had previous biopsies of the affected regions, from which specimens were often interpreted as benign fibrous connective tissue. The most common breed represented was Golden Retriever (13/25 dogs, 52%). Skull radiographs were evaluated for 22 dogs, and 16 dogs (72%) had evidence of bone lysis. At admission, none of the dogs had radiographic evidence of pulmonary metastasis. On subsequent examinations and necropsy, prevalence of pulmonary metastasis was 12% (3/25 dogs) and of regional lymph node metastasis, 20% (5/25 dogs). Histologic appearance of all specimens was similar and was characterized by proliferation of fibrous connective tissue, with moderate to low cellularity, that aggressively infiltrated adjacent normal tissue. Treatment modalities varied considerably. Surgical excision in combination with radiation therapy, surgery alone, radiation therapy alone, and radiation therapy used adjunctly with localized hyperthermia prolonged survival times in some dogs. The clinical signs, tumor behavior, and histologic characteristics of these lesions were distinctive from those in previously described oral fibrosarcomas in dogs. Comparatively, these tumors most closely resembled aggressive fibromatoses in human beings in regard to clinical signs, local invasive behavior, and histologic appearance, but differed in the prevalence of metastasis.
Summary
Medical records of 23 dogs in which thymoma was diagnosed between Jan 1, 1980 and Dec 31, 1991 were reviewed. All thymomas were located in the cranial mediastinum. Eleven dogs had mega-esophagus, and myasthenia gravis was confirmed in 7 of these 11. One dog developed clinical signs of myasthenia gravis after removal of the thymoma. Concurrent, nonthymic neoplasms were found in 5 dogs, and 2 had hypercalcemia. Three dogs developed third-degree atrioventricular heart block, 1 of which had generalized myositis involving the cardiac muscle.
None of the dogs had evidence of distant metastasis. Histologically, the predominant tumor types were differentiated epithelial type (9/23) and lymphocyte-rich type (6/23). Clear cells (large cells with nonstaining cytoplasm) comprised ≥ 50% of the cell population in tumors from 5 dogs. Mast cells were detected histologically in 85% of the thymomas evaluated. Sixteen dogs were treated, and in 15 of these, surgery was the primary means of treatment. Six of the 9 dogs with megaesophagus that underwent surgery died or were euthanized within 1 week of diagnosis; whereas only 1 of the 4 dogs without megaesophagus that underwent surgery died within 1 week of diagnosis. Two dogs underwent surgery and received adjuvant chemotherapy. One dog died of complications associated with chemotherapy. One dog was treated with chemotherapy alone and survived 14 months. Seven dogs did not undergo treatment; 4 of these were euthanatized immediately after the mass was first discovered.
By means of univariate analysis, age (≤ 8 years old vs > 8 years old), megaesophagus (present vs not present), and histologic type were found to be significantly (P ≤ 0.05) associated with survival time. Only megaesophagus was found to be significantly associated with survival time by multivariate analysis. Dogs with megaesophagus had a Kaplan-Meier median survival time of 4 days. Kaplan-Meier median survival time for dogs without megaesophagus could not be calculated, because most dogs died of causes unrelated to the thymoma and were censored. Kaplan-Meier 1-year survival rate was 83% for dogs without megaesophagus.
Summary:
A study was undertaken to determine the effect chemotherapy had when used to treat 45 dogs with measurable metastatic osteosarcoma. The primary tumor was histologically confirmed as an osteosarcoma in each case. Thirty-nine dogs had the primary tumor surgically removed. Twenty-four of these dogs were treated adjunctively with cisplatin (70 mg/m2 of body surface, IV, q 3 weeks; median 2 doses, range 1 to 6 doses) prior to the onset of metastasis. The remaining 6 dogs from which the primary tumor was not surgically removed were diagnosed as having metastatic osteosarcoma in addition to the primary tumor on initial examination.
The median time from initial examination until the development of metastatic disease was 115 days (range, 27 to 1,199 days). The location of the metastatic disease was lungs (31 dogs), bone (3 dogs), soft tissue (1 dog), and multiple sites including lungs, bone, and soft tissue sites (10 dogs). The metastatic lesions were confirmed by pretreatment biopsy (n = 8) or cytologic evaluation (n = 2) in 10 cases and at necropsy in 27 cases. The remaining 8 cases were diagnosed radiographically as multiple metastatic lesions in the lungs consistent with metastatic osteosarcoma.
The metastatic disease was treated with cisplatin in 31 dogs (70 mg/m2, IV, q 3 weeks; median 2 doses, range 1 to 4 doses), doxorubicin in 11 dogs (30 mg/m2, IV, q 3 weeks; median 2 doses, range 1 to 3 doses), and mitoxantrone in 3 dogs (5 mg/m2, IV, q 3 weeks; median 2 doses, range 1 to 3 doses). Eight dogs that had metastatic disease treated with cisplatin were also given doxorubicin; 2 dogs treated with either doxorubicin or mitoxantrone were treated subsequently with cisplatin. The extent of neoplastic disease was determined immediately before the first dose of chemotherapy, and then every 3 to 6 weeks thereafter unless the dog had signs compatible with progressive disease, in which case, an evaluation was done more frequently. Each dog was treated with one chemotherapeutic agent until the dog developed progressive disease, or until the dog's quality of life diminished to an unacceptable level as determined by the owner or attending veterinarian. One dog treated with doxorubicin achieved partial remission. The duration of the partial remission was 21 days, and the lesion was confirmed to be osteosarcoma on necropsy 159 days after the metastatic disease was diagnosed. The median survival time of the other 44 dogs that did not respond to treatment from the time the metastatic disease was diagnosed was 61 days (range, 14 to 192 days). Cisplatin, doxorubicin, and mitoxantrone chemotherapy appear to be ineffective for the treatment of measurable metastatic osteosarcoma in the dog.
Summary
The study reported here was undertaken to determine the nephrotoxicosis associated with the administration of cisplatin, an antineoplastic agent, to dogs when administered during 6-hour saline solution diuresis. Cisplatin (70 mg/m2 of body surface, iv, every 21 days) was given to 61 dogs with malignant neoplasia with a total of 185 doses in 1 (n = 9 dogs), 2 (n = 26 dogs), 3 (n = 4 dogs), 4 (n = 9 dogs), 5 (n = 2 dogs), and 6 (n = 11 dogs) treatments. The cisplatin was given over a 20-minute period after 0.9% NaCl solution (saline solution) was administered iv for 4 hours at a rate of 18.3 ml/kg of body weight/h. After the cisplatin infusion, saline solution diuresis was continued at the same rate for 2 hours. Before each treatment with cisplatin, dogs were evaluated with at least a physical examination, cbc, determination of serum urea nitrogen concentration, and in most cases, determination of serum creatinine concentration and urine specific gravity. Four of the 61 dogs (6.6%) developed clinically evident renal disease after 2 (1 dog), 3 (2 dogs), and 4 (1 dog) doses of cisplatin were administered. Three of the 4 dogs had preexisting disease of the urinary tract prior to the start of treatment. The survival time in dogs that developed renal disease (median, 145 days; range, 15 to 150 days) was similar to that of all dogs in this study (median, 154 days; range, 30 to 500 days), with 13 dogs still alive at the conclusion of the study. Three of the 4 dogs that developed renal disease were euthanatized because of tumor-related causes and chronic renal failure, whereas the fourth died as a direct result of nephrotoxicosis. Therefore, the 6-hour saline solution diuresis protocol used in this study to administer cisplatin appears to be effective in preventing nephrotoxicosis in dogs with tumors without preexisting urinary tract disease.
