Search Results

Abstract

Objective—To investigate the biomechanics of cervical vertebral motion units (VMUs) before and after a ventral slot procedure and after subsequent pin-polymethylmethacrylate (pin-PMMA) fixation and to assess the use of smooth and positive-profile threaded (PPT) pins in pin-PMMA fixation and intravertebral pin placement.

Sample Population—Cervical portions (C3 through C6 vertebrae) of 14 cadaveric canine vertebral columns.

Procedure—Flexion and extension bending moments were applied to specimens before and after creation of a ventral slot across the C4-C5 intervertebral space and after subsequent smooth or PPT pin-PMMA fixation at that site. Data for the C3-C4, C4-C5, and C5-C6 VMUs were compared among treatments and between pin types, and pin protrusion was compared between pin types.

Results—Compared with values in intact specimens, ventral slot treatment increased neutral zone range of motion (NZ-ROM) by 98% at the treated VMUs and appeared to decrease overall ROM at adjacent VMUs; pin-PMMA fixation decreased NZ-ROM by 92% at the treated VMUs and increased overall NZ-ROM by 19% to 24% at adjacent VMUs. Specimens fixed with PPT pins were 82% (flexion) and 80% (extension) stiffer than smooth–pin-fixed specimens. Overall, 41% of pins protruded into foramina; PPT pins were more likely to protrude into transverse foramina.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that fixation of a cervical VMU alters the biomechanics of adjacent VMUs and may contribute to degeneration of adjacent intervertebral disks. Use of threaded pins may lower the incidence of pin loosening and implant failure but enhances the likelihood of transverse foramina penetration. ( Am J Vet Res 2005;66:678–687)

Abstract

Objective—To assess the influence of tumor cell proliferation and sex-hormone receptors on the efficacy of megavoltage irradiation for dogs with incompletely resected meningiomas.

Design—Longitudinal clinical trial.

Animals—20 dogs with incompletely resected intracranial meningiomas.

Procedure—Dogs were treated with 48 Gy of radiation administered 3 times per week on an alternateday schedule of 4 Gy/fraction for 4 weeks, using bilateral parallel-opposed fields.

Results—Tumor proliferative fraction measured by immunohistochemical detection of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PFPCNA index) ranged from 10 to 42% (median, 24%). Progesterone receptor immunoreactivity was detected in 70% of tumors. Estrogen receptor immunoreactivity was not detected. An inverse correlation was found between detection of progesterone receptors and the PFPCNA index. The overall 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 68%. The only prognostic factor that significantly affected PFS rate was the PFPCNA index. The 2-year PFS was 42% for tumors with a high PFPCNA index (value ≥ 24%) and 91% for tumors with a low PFPCNA index (value < 24%). Tumors with a high PFPCNA index were 9.1 times as likely to recur as were tumors with a low PFPCNA index.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—This study confirms the value of irradiation for dogs with incompletely resected meningiomas. Prognostic value of the PFPCNA index suggests that duration of treatment and interval from surgery to start of irradiation may affect outcome. Loss of progesterone receptors in some tumors may be responsible for an increase in PFPCNA index and may indirectly affect prognosis after radiation therapy. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2000;216: 701–707)

Abstract

Objective—To test the hypothesis that head-down positioning in anesthetized horses increases intracranial pressure (ICP) and decreases cerebral and spinal cord blood flows.

Animals—6 adult horses.

Procedures—For each horse, anesthesia was induced with ketamine hydrochloride and xylazine hydrochloride and maintained with 1.57% isoflurane in oxygen. Once in right lateral recumbency, horses were ventilated to maintain normocapnia. An ICP transducer was placed in the subarachnoid space, and catheters were placed in the left cardiac ventricle and in multiple vessels. Blood flow measurements were made by use of a fluorescent microsphere technique while each horse was in horizontal and head-down positions. Inferential statistical analyses were performed via repeated-measures ANOVA and Dunn-Sidak comparisons.

Results—Because 1 horse developed extreme hypotension, data from 5 horses were analyzed. During head-down positioning, mean ± SEM ICP increased to 55 ± 2 mm Hg, compared with 31 ± 2 mm Hg during horizontal positioning; cerebral perfusion pressure was unchanged. Compared with findings during horizontal positioning, blood flow to the cerebrum, cerebellum, and cranial portion of the brainstem decreased significantly by approximately 20% during head-down positioning; blood flows within the pons and medulla were mildly but not significantly decreased. Spinal cord blood flow was low (9 mL/min/100 g of tissue) and unaffected by position.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Head-down positioning increased heart-brain hydrostatic gradients in isoflurane-anesthetized horses, thereby decreasing cerebral blood flow and, to a greater extent, increasing ICP. During anesthesia, CNS regions with low blood flows in horses may be predisposed to ischemic injury induced by high ICP.

Abstract

Objective—To test a hypothesis predicting that isoflurane would interfere with cerebrovascular autoregulation in horses and to evaluate whether increased mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) would increase cerebral blood flow and intracranial pressure (ICP) during isoflurane anesthesia.

Animals—6 healthy adult horses.

Procedures—Horses were anesthetized with isoflurane at a constant end-tidal concentration sufficient to maintain MAP at 60 mm Hg. The facial, carotid, and dorsal metatarsal arteries were catheterized for blood sample collection and pressure measurements. A sub-arachnoid transducer was used to measure ICP Fluorescent microspheres were injected through a left ventricular catheter during MAP conditions of 60 mm Hg, and blood samples were collected. This process was repeated with different-colored microspheres at the same isoflurane concentration during MAP conditions of 80 and 100 mm Hg achieved with IV administration of dobutamine. Central nervous system tissue samples were obtained after euthanasia to quantify fluorescence and calculate blood flow.

Results—Increased MAP did not increase ICP or blood flow in any of the brain tissues examined. However, values for blood flow were low for all tested brain regions except the pons and cerebellum. Spinal cord blood flow was significantly decreased at the highest MAP.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggested that healthy horses autoregulate blood flow in the CNS at moderate to deep planes of isoflurane anesthesia. Nonetheless, relatively low blood flows in the brain and spinal cord of anesthetized horses may increase risks for hypoperfusion and neurologic injury.

Abstract

Objective—To determine whether high intracranial pressure (ICP) during spontaneous ventilation (SV) in anesthetized horses coincides with an increase in intracranial elastance (ie, change in ICP per unit change of intracranial volume).

Animals—6 adult horses.

Procedure—Anesthesia was induced and maintained in each horse for 5 hours with isoflurane at a constant dose equal to 1.2 times the minimum alveolar concentration. Direct ICP measurements were obtained by use of a strain gauge transducer inserted in the subarachnoid space, and arterial blood pressure was measured from a carotid artery. Physiologic responses were recorded after 15 minutes of normocapnic controlled ventilation (CV) and then after 10 minutes of SV. Aliquots (3 mL) of CSF were removed from each horse during SV until ICP returned to CV values. Slopes of pressure-volume curves yielded intracranial elastance.

Results—Intracranial elastance ranged from 0.2 to 3.7 mm Hg/mL after removal of the first aliquot of CSF. Slopes of pressure-volume curves were largest following removal of the initial CSF aliquot, but shallow portions of curves were detected at relatively high ICPs (25 to 35 mm Hg). A second-order relationship between SV ICP and initial intracranial elastance was found.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In horses anesthetized with isoflurane, small changes in intracranial volume can cause large changes in ICP. Increased intracranial elastance could further exacerbate preexisting intracranial hypertension. However, removal of small volumes of CSF may cause rapid compensatory replacement from other intracranial compartments, which suggests steady-state maintenance of an increase in intracranial volume during isoflurane anesthesia in horses. (Am J Vet Res 2004;65:1042–1046)

Abstract

Objective—To evaluate deafness in American Paint Horses by phenotype, clinical findings, brainstem auditory-evoked responses (BAERs), and endothelin B receptor (EDNBR) genotype.

Design—Case series and case-control studies.

Animals—14 deaf American Paint Horses, 20 suspected-deaf American Paint Horses, and 13 nondeaf American Paint Horses and Pintos.

Procedures—Horses were categorized on the basis of coat color pattern and eye color. Testing for the EDNBR gene mutation (associated with overo lethal white foal syndrome) and BAERs was performed. Additional clinical findings were obtained from medical records.

Results—All 14 deaf horses had loss of all BAER waveforms consistent with complete deafness. Most horses had the splashed white or splashed white–frame blend coat pattern. Other patterns included frame overo and tovero. All of the deaf horses had extensive head and limb white markings, although the amount of white on the neck and trunk varied widely. All horses had at least 1 partially heterochromic iris, and most had 2 blue eyes. Ninety-one percent (31/34) of deaf and suspected-deaf horses had the EDNBR gene mutation. Deaf and suspected-deaf horses were used successfully for various performance events. All nondeaf horses had unremarkable BAER results.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Veterinarians should be aware of deafness among American Paint Horses, particularly those with a splashed white or frame overo coat color pattern, blend of these patterns, or tovero pattern. Horses with extensive head and limb markings and those with blue eyes appeared to be at particular risk.

Abstract

Objective—To develop a method for surgical placement of a commercial microsensor intracranial pressure (ICP) transducer and to characterize normal ICP and cerebral perfusion pressures (CPP) in conscious adult horses.

Animals—6 healthy castrated male adult horses (1 Holsteiner, 1 Quarter Horse, and 4 Thoroughbreds).

Procedure—Anesthesia was induced and maintained by use of isoflurane as the sole agent. Catheters were inserted percutaneously into the jugular vein and carotid artery. A microsensor ICP transducer was inserted in the subarachnoid space by means of right parietal craniotomy. The burr hole was then sealed with bone wax, the surgical incision was sutured, and the transducer was secured in place. Measurements were collected 1 hour after horses were able to stand during recovery from anesthesia.

Results—Mean ± SD values for ICP and CPP were 2 ± 4 and 102 ± 26 mm Hg, respectively.

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—This report describes a relatively facile technique for obtaining direct and accurate ICP measurements for adult horses. The ICP values obtained in this study are within reference ranges established for other species and provide a point of reference for the diagnosis of abnormal ICP in adult horses. (Am J Vet Res 2002;63:1252–1256)

Abstract

Objective—To test the hypothesis that isofluraneanesthetized horses during controlled ventilation and spontaneous ventilation exhibit temporal changes in cerebral hemodynamics, as measured by intracranial pressure and cerebral perfusion pressure, that reflect temporal changes in systemic arterial pressure.

Animals—6 healthy adult horses.

Procedure—Horses were anesthetized in left lateral recumbency with 1.57% isoflurane in O₂ for 5 hours in 2 experiments by use of either controlled ventilation (with normocapnia) or spontaneous ventilation (with hypercapnia) in a randomized crossover design. Intracranial pressure was measured with a subarachnoid strain-gauge transducer. Carotid artery pressure, central venous pressure, airway pressures, blood gases, and minute ventilation also were measured.

Results—Intracranial pressure during controlled ventilation significantly increased during constant dose isoflurane anesthesia and thus contributed to decreasing cerebral perfusion pressure. Intracranial pressure was initially higher during spontaneous ventilation than during controlled ventilation, but this difference disappeared over time; no significant differences in cerebral perfusion pressures were observed between horses that had spontaneous or controlled ventilation.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Cerebral hemodynamics and their association with ventilation mode are altered over time in isoflurane-anesthetized horses and could contribute to decreased cerebral perfusion during prolonged anesthesia. (Am J Vet Res 2003;64:1444–1448)

Abstract

Objective—To measure the effects of isoflurane end-tidal concentration and mode of ventilation (spontaneous vs controlled) on intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) in horses.

Animals—6 adult horses of various breeds.

Procedure—Anesthesia was induced and maintained with isoflurane in O₂ in 6 healthy, unmedicated, adult horses. Using a subarachnoid strain gauge transducer, ICP was measured. Blood gas tensions and carotid artery pressures also were measured. Four isoflurane doses were studied, corresponding to the following multiples of the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC): 1.0 MAC, 1.2 MAC, 1.4 MAC, and 1.6 MAC. Data were collected during controlled ventilation and spontaneous ventilation at each dose.

Results—Increasing isoflurane end-tidal concentration induced significant dose-dependent decreases in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and CPP but no change in ICP. Hypercapnic spontaneous ventilation caused significant increases in MAP and ICP, compared with normocapnic controlled ventilation; no change in CPP was observed.

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Hypercapnia likely increases cerebral blood flow (CBF) by maintaining CPP in the face of presumed cerebral vasodilation in healthy anesthetized horses. The effect of isoflurane dose on CBF, however, remains unresolved because it depends on the opposinginfluences of a decrease in CCP and cerebral vasodilation. (Am J Vet Res 2003;64:21–25)