Search Results

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine the most common types of injuries in cats surgically treated for thoracic trauma, complications associated with surgical treatment, and factors associated with mortality rate and evaluate the effectiveness of the animal trauma triage (ATT) scoring system for predicting outcome.

DESIGN Retrospective case series with nested observational study.

ANIMALS 23 client-owned cats surgically treated for thoracic trauma at 7 veterinary teaching hospitals between 1990 and 2014.

PROCEDURES Medical records were reviewed to collect data on signalment, medical history, clinical signs and physical examination findings at initial evaluation, clinicopathologic findings, initial emergency treatments and diagnostic tests performed, type of trauma sustained, imaging findings, surgery details, postoperative complications, duration of hospitalization, and cause of death, if applicable. All variables were evaluated for associations with survival to hospital discharge.

RESULTS Types of trauma that cats had sustained included dog bite or attack (n = 8 [35%]), motor vehicle accident (6 [26%]), other animal attack (2 [9%]), impalement injury or fall (2 [9%]), projectile penetrating trauma (1 [4%]), or unknown origin (4 [17%]). Intrathoracic surgery was required for 65% (15/23) of cats. The overall perioperative mortality rate was 13% (3/23). Mean ± SD ATT scores for surviving and nonsurviving cats were 6.4 ± 2.2 and 10.0 ± 1.7, respectively. Nineteen of 20 cats with no cardiopulmonary arrest survived to discharge, compared with 1 of 3 cats with cardiopulmonary arrest. Only these 2 variables were significantly associated with outcome.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The perioperative mortality rate was low in this series of cats with thoracic trauma; however, those with cardiopulmonary arrest were less likely to survive to hospital discharge than other cats. Cats with a low ATT score were more likely to survive than cats with a high ATT score.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine perioperative mortality rate and identify risk factors associated with outcome in dogs with thoracic trauma that underwent surgical procedures and to evaluate the utility of the animal trauma triage (ATT) score in predicting outcome.

DESIGN Retrospective case series.

ANIMALS 157 client-owned dogs.

PROCEDURES Medical records databases of 7 veterinary teaching hospitals were reviewed. Dogs were included if trauma to the thorax was documented and the patient underwent a surgical procedure. History, signalment, results of physical examination and preoperative laboratory tests, surgical procedure, perioperative complications, duration of hospital stay, and details of follow-up were recorded. Descriptive statistics and ATT scores were calculated, and logistic regression analysis was performed.

RESULTS 123 of 157 (78%) patients underwent thoracic surgery, and 134 of 157 (85.4%) survived to discharge. Mean ± SD ATT score for nonsurvivors was 8 ± 2.4. In the multivariable model, female dogs and dogs that did not experience cardiac arrest as a postoperative complication had odds of survival 6 times and 102 times, respectively, those of male dogs and dogs that did experience cardiac arrest as a postoperative complication. Additionally, patients with a mean ATT score < 7 had odds of survival 5 times those of patients with an ATT score ≥ 7.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The overall perioperative mortality rate was low for patients with thoracic trauma undergoing surgery in this study. However, male dogs and dogs that experienced cardiac arrest had a lower likelihood of survival to discharge. The ATT score may be a useful adjunct to assist clinical decision-making in veterinary patients with thoracic trauma.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To compare analgesic and gastrointestinal effects of lidocaine and buprenorphine administered to rabbits undergoing ovariohysterectomy.

ANIMALS Fourteen 12-month-old female New Zealand White rabbits.

PROCEDURES Rabbits were assigned to 2 treatment groups (7 rabbits/group). One group received buprenorphine (0.06 mg/kg, IV, q 8 h for 2 days), and the other received lidocaine (continuous rate infusion [CRI] at 100 μg/kg/min for 2 days). Variables, including food and water consumption, fecal output, glucose and cortisol concentrations, and behaviors while in exercise pens, were recorded.

RESULTS Rabbits receiving a lidocaine CRI had significantly higher gastrointestinal motility, food intake, and fecal output and significantly lower glucose concentrations, compared with results for rabbits receiving buprenorphine. Rabbits receiving lidocaine also had a higher number of normal behaviors (eg, sprawling, traveling, and frolicking) after surgery, compared with behaviors such as crouching and sitting that were seen more commonly in rabbits receiving buprenorphine. Both groups had significant weight loss after surgery. Pain scores did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Significant decreases in heart rate and respiratory rate were observed on the day of surgery, compared with values before and after surgery. Rabbits in the lidocaine group had significantly overall lower heart rates than did rabbits in the buprenorphine group.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE A CRI of lidocaine to rabbits provided better postoperative outcomes with respect to fecal output, food intake, and glucose concentrations. Thus, lidocaine appeared to be a suitable alternative to buprenorphine for alleviating postoperative pain with minimal risk of anorexia and gastrointestinal ileus.