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  • Author or Editor: Michael D. Willard x
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Abstract

Objective—To evaluate fecal concentrations of selected genera of colonic bacteria in healthy dogs, and to investigate effects of dietary fructooligosaccharides (FOS) on those bacterial populations.

Animals—6 healthy adult Beagles.

Procedure—Dogs were randomly assigned to 2 groups of 3 and fed an unsupplemented diet for 370 days. After 88 days, fecal samples were collected. Another fecal sample was collected from each dog 282 days later. Group A then received a diet supplemented with FOS, and group B continued to receive the unsupplemented diet. Twenty-eight to 29 days later, fecal samples were collected. Diets were switched between groups, and fecal samples were collected 31 and 87 days later. Concentrations of Bifidobacterium spp, Lactobacillus spp, Clostridium spp, Bacteroides spp, and Escherichia coli in freshly collected feces were determined. Effects of diet and time on bacterial concentrations were compared between groups.

ResultsBifidobacterium spp and Lactobacillus spp were inconsistently isolated from feces of dogs fed either diet. Sequence of diet significantly affected number of Bacteroides spp subsequently isolated from feces, but diet had no effect on numbers of Clostridium spp or E coli.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Some genera of bacteria (eg, Bifidobacterium) believed to be common components of colonic microflora may be only sporadically isolated from feces of healthy dogs. This deviation from expected fecal flora may have implications for the effectiveness of supplementing diets with prebiotics. (Am J Vet Res 2000;61: 820–825)

Full access
in American Journal of Veterinary Research

Abstract

Objective—To evaluate stability of canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (cPLI) in serum samples and to determine the effect of long-term administration of prednisone on serum cPLI concentrations.

Sample Population—8 canine serum samples for the stability evaluation and serum samples obtained from 6 healthy young adult heterozygous (carrier) dogs with X-linked hereditary nephritis for determining the effect of prednisone administration.

Procedures—To evaluate stability of serum cPLI concentration, an aliquot of each serum sample was stored at each of 4 temperatures between −80° and 24°C; samples were analyzed on days 0, 3, 7, 14, and 21. To determine the effect of long-term prednisone administration, pretreatment serum samples were obtained (days 0 and 14) and prednisone was administered (2.2 mg/kg, q 24 h, PO) on days 15 through 42, with serum samples obtained on days 28 and 42. Additional serum samples were obtained on days 56 and 70.

Results—Mean serum cPLI concentrations did not change significantly from day 0 to day 21 regardless of storage temperature. Serum cPLI concentrations in dogs after prednisone administration were within the reference range for all dogs at all time points, and results of repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that serum cPLI concentrations did not change significantly over time.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Serum cPLI concentrations measured in canine serum samples stored at room temperature, in a refrigerator, or in a freezer at −20° or −80°C were stable for at least 21 days. Also, long-term prednisone administration to dogs did not significantly affect serum cPLI concentrations.

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in American Journal of Veterinary Research

Abstract

Objective—To examine the effect of various clinical tracks within the veterinary medical clinical curriculum at Texas A&M University on clinical diagnostic proficiency as determined by pre- and post-training assessment. We expected that the clinical track chosen by the student would impact their measured outcome with bias toward higher scores in their chosen field.

Design—Prospective cohort study.

Study Population—32 students from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University.

Procedures—By use of standardized, written case scenarios, clinical reasoning was assessed twice: once prior to the clinical (fourth) year of the curriculum and again at completion of the clinical year. Students demonstrated their abilities to collect and organize appropriate clinical data (history, physical examination, and laboratory findings), determine clinical diagnoses, and formulate and implement acceptable treatment modalities. Data from clinical assessments were compared for a given cohort and correlated with other measures (eg, grades, standardized test scores, and species-specific curricular track).

Results—Differences were detected in clinical diagnostic proficiency among students in different clinical tracks and for different species groups in the case scenarios. Tracking by species group in the clinical veterinary curriculum appeared to affect development of clinical reasoning and resulted in differential proficiency among cases for differing species groups.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Differences in clinical experiences between small animal tracks and all other track opportunities (large animal, mixed animal, and alternative) influenced the development of clinical proficiency in fourth-year veterinary students during their clinical training period.

Full access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Objective

To determine whether endoscopic examination of the choanae resulted in diagnosis of various diseases in dogs and cats with signs of respiratory tract disease.

Design

Retrospective study.

Animals

91 dogs and 27 cats that had endoscopic examination of the choanae.

Procedure

Medical records were reviewed for endoscopy findings and results of examination of biopsy or cytologic specimens.

Results

34 animals had neoplasia in the choanal region; in 26 animals, diagnosis was confirmed by evaluation of specimens obtained by endoscopy. Five dogs with neoplasia had an erroneous diagnosis of rhinitis made on the basis of evaluation of specimens obtained by endoscopy. Six dogs and 2 cats had foreign objects in the choanae; 7 foreign objects were removed endoscopically, whereas 1 required nasal flushing. Results of endoscopy and biopsy of the choanae provided diagnosis of cryptococcosis and aspergillosis, but did not aid in the diagnosis of pythiosis or nasal mites.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

Endoscopic examination of the choanae may assist in rapid diagnosis of nasal neoplasms, foreign objects, and certain infectious organisms. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 1999;215:1301–1305)

Free access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

Objective—To determine whether substantial interobserver variation exists among diagnostic pathologists for descriptions of intestinal mucosal cell populations and whether histopathologic descriptions accurately predict when a patient does not have clinically evident intestinal disease.

Design—Comparative survey.

Sample Population—14 histologic slides of duodenal, ileal, or colonic tissue from 10 dogs and 3 cats.

Procedure—Each histologic slide was evaluated independently by 5 pathologists at 4 institutions. Pathologists, who had no knowledge of the tissues' origin, indicated whether slides were adequate for histologic evaluation and whether the tissue was normal or abnormal. They also identified the main infiltrating cell type in specimens that were considered abnormal, and whether infiltrates were mild, moderate, severe, or neoplastic.

Results—Quality of all slides was considered adequate or superior by at least 4 of the 5 pathologists. For intensity of mucosal cellular infiltrates, there was uniformity of opinion for 1 slide, near-uniformity for 6 slides, and nonuniformity for 7 slides. Five dogs did not have clinical evidence of intestinal disease, yet the pathologists' descriptions indicated that their intestinal tissue specimens were abnormal.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Substantial interobserver variation was detected. Standardization of pathologic descriptions of intestinal tissue is necessary for meaningful comparisons with published articles. Clinicians must be cautious about correlating clinical signs and histopathologic descriptions of intestinal biopsy specimens. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2002;220:1177–1182)

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in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

Objective—To evaluate quality of duodenal tissue specimens obtained endoscopically from dogs and cats and submitted to 1 of 2 diagnostic laboratories for evaluation.

Design—Case series.

Sample Population—Slides from 50 consecutive canine and 50 consecutive feline endoscopically obtained duodenal tissue specimens submitted to laboratory 1 and 49 consecutive canine and 46 consecutive feline specimens submitted to laboratory 2.

Procedure—Slides were examined independently by 3 investigators, and each tissue piece on each slide was classified as clearly inadequate, questionable, or clearly adequate on the basis of 4 criteria. An overall score was then assigned to the slide.

Results—Slides from laboratory 1 were more likely to be scored as clearly adequate and less likely to be scored as clearly inadequate than slides from laboratory 2. Clearly adequate slides from laboratory 1 had a higher number of clearly adequate pieces of tissue than did clearly adequate slides from laboratory 2. Slides scored as clearly adequate had a higher number of individual tissue pieces than did slides scored as clearly inadequate.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that the quality of endoscopically obtained duodenal tissue specimens submitted to laboratories can vary, possibly because of differences in experience of individuals collecting biopsy specimens. Results suggest that at least 8 individual tissue pieces should be submitted when performing endoscopic biopsy of the duodenum in dogs and cats. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2001;219:474–479)

Full access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association