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- Author or Editor: Virginia R. Fajt x
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Abstract
Objective—To determine current attitudes and practices related to pain and analgesia in cattle among US veterinarians in bovine practice and to identify factors associated with these attitudes and practices.
Design—Web-based survey.
Sample—3,019 US members of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) with e-mail addresses.
Procedures—Veterinarians were invited via e-mail to participate in a Web-based survey. Respondents replied to questions related to pain and analgesia and supplied personal, professional, and demographic information. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed, and associations among various factors were examined.
Results—666 surveys (25.5% response rate) were analyzed. Among common procedures and medical conditions of cattle listed on the survey, castration of dairy calves < 6 months old was subjectively estimated as causing the least pain; abdominal surgery, toxic mastitis, and dehorning of calves > 6 months old were assessed as causing the greatest pain. Respondents reported not providing analgesic drugs to approximately 70% of calves castrated at < 6 months of age. The most commonly administered analgesics were NSAIDs, local anesthetics, and α2-adrenergic receptor agonists. Significant associations were detected among respondent characteristics and pain ratings, percentages of cattle treated, and opinions regarding analgesia.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results provide information on current attitudes and practices related to pain and analgesia in cattle among US veterinarians in bovine practice and can be considered in the development of policies and protocols for pain management in cattle. These data can be compared with those of future studies to examine changes over time.
Abstract
Objective—To determine the serologic and bacteriologic culture prevalence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in sheep and goats and the value of such assays for prediction of future development of caseous lymphadenitis (CL).
Design—Observational study.
Animals—919 goats and sheep in 3 herds in southwest Texas.
Procedures—During an initial evaluation, serologic and bacteriologic culture status for CL was determined for all animals. Subsequently, animals were evaluated every 6 months for a 13-month period to detect external CL lesions. Affected animals in 2 herds were treated with tulathromycin or a control treatment; affected animals in 1 herd were culled. The value of assays for prediction of future development of CL lesions was determined.
Results—The serologic prevalence of CL in herds at the start of the study ranged from 7.52% to 69.54%. The bacteriologic culture prevalence of CL ranged from 0% to 6.12% at the start of the study and 0% to 9.56% at the end of the study. Synergistic hemolysin inhibition results were poor predictors of future development of CL lesions in animals during the study period; however, animals with positive bacteriologic culture results for CL were more likely to develop lesions in the future than were animals with negative bacteriologic culture results.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Caseous lymphadenitis was detected in animals in this study despite prior management of affected animals in herds via culling. Use of a synergistic hemolysin inhibition test for management of CL may cause unnecessary culling of animals; treatment might allow retention of genetically valuable CL-affected animals in a herd without substantially increasing the prevalence of CL.
Abstract
Objective—To determine the pharmacokinetics of gallium maltolate (GaM) after intragastric administration in adult horses.
Animals—6 adult horses.
Procedures—Feed was withheld for 12 hours prior to intragastric administration of GaM (20 mg/kg). A single dose of GaM was administered to each horse via a nasogastric tube (time 0). Blood samples were collected at various time points from 0 to 120 hours. Serum was used to determine gallium concentrations by use of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy. Noncompartmental and compartmental analyses of serum gallium concentrations were performed. Pharmacokinetic models were selected on the basis of the Akaike information criterion and visual analysis of plots of residuals.
Results—Serum concentration data for 1 horse were such that this horse was considered an outlier and excluded from noncompartmental and compartmental analyses. Noncompartmental analysis was used to determine individual pharmacokinetic parameters. A 1-compartment model with first-order input and output and lag time was selected as the best-fit model for the data and used to determine mean — SD values for maximum observed serum concentration (0.28 — 0.09 μg/mL), time of maximum concentration (3.09 — 0.43 hours), time to the first measurable concentration (0.26 — 0.11 hours), apparent elimination half-life (48.82 — 5.63 hours), area under the time-concentration curve (20.68 — 757 h—μg/mL), and apparent volume of distribution (73,493 — 18,899 mL/kg).
Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Further studies are necessary to determine the bioavailability of GaM after intragastric administration in adult horses.
Abstract
Objective—To examine effects of danofloxacin and tilmicosin on continuously recorded body temperature in beef calves with pneumonia experimentally induced by inoculation of Mannheimia haemolytica.
Animals—41 Angus-cross heifers (body weight, 160 to 220 kg) without a recent history of respiratory tract disease or antimicrobial treatment, all from a single ranch.
Procedure—Radiotransmitters were implanted intravaginally in each calf. Pneumonia was induced intrabronchially by use of logarithmic-phase cultures of M haemolytica. At 21 hours after inoculation, calves were treated with saline (0.9% NaCl) solution, danofloxacin, or tilmicosin. Body temperature was monitored from 66 hours before inoculation until 72 hours after treatment. Area under the curve (AUC) of the temperature-time plot and mean temperature were calculated for 3-hour intervals and compared among treatment groups.
Results—The AUCs for 3-hour intervals did not differ significantly among treatment groups for any of the time periods. Analysis of the mean temperature for 3-hour intervals revealed significantly higher temperatures at most time periods for saline-treated calves, compared with temperatures for antimicrobial-treated calves; however, we did not detect significant differences between the danofloxacin- and tilmicosin-treated calves. The circadian rhythm of temperatures before exposure was detected again approximately 48 hours after bacterial inoculation.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Danofloxacin and tilmicosin did not differ in their effect on mean body temperature for 3-hour intervals but significantly decreased body temperature, compared with body temperature in saline-treated calves. Normal daily variation in body temperature must be considered in the face of respiratory tract disease during clinical evaluation of feedlot cattle. ( Am J Vet Res 2004;65: 610–615)
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To determine oxytetracycline concentrations in plasma and in fluid from Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (CPT)-inoculated tissue chambers (used as experimental abscess models) and uninoculated (control) tissue chambers in sheep after IM or local administration of the drug and to investigate whether CPT growth was reduced or eliminated by these treatments.
ANIMALS
10 clinically normal female sheep.
PROCEDURES
Sterile tissue chambers were surgically implanted in both paralumbar fossae of each sheep; ≥ 2 weeks later (day −6), 1 randomly selected chamber was inoculated with CPT, and the opposite chamber was injected with sterile growth medium. Sheep received oxytetracycline IM (n = 5) or by percutaneous injection into CPT-inoculated (4) or uninoculated (1) chambers on day 0. Tissue fluid from each chamber and venous blood samples for plasma collection were obtained at predetermined times over 6 days for bacterial counts (tissue chambers) and analysis of oxytetracycline concentrations (tissue chambers and plasma). Sheep were euthanized on day 6. Regional lymph nodes were collected bilaterally from each sheep for culture.
RESULTS
Measurable concentrations of oxytetracycline were present in each chamber throughout the study, regardless of administration route or presence of CPT. No CPT growth was detected after the 48-hour time point in inoculated chambers injected with oxytetracycline; however, CPT was isolated from all inoculated chambers throughout the study after IM drug administration. One regional lymph node (ipsilateral to a CPT-inoculated, oxytetracycline-injected chamber with no CPT growth after 48 hours) was culture positive for CPT.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Intralesional administration of oxytetracycline may eliminate growth of CPT locally, but complete elimination of the organism remains difficult.
Abstract
Objective—To compare the effectiveness of 3 treatment regimens for small ruminants with caseous lymphadenitis.
Design—Randomized clinical trial.
Animals—44 client-owned sheep and goats.
Procedures—Aspirates were obtained from 48 lesions of 44 enrolled animals and submitted for bacterial culture. Animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups. Treatment for group A (n = 15 lesions) consisted of opening, draining, and flushing the lesions and SC administration of procaine penicillin G. Treatment for group B (n = 15 lesions) consisted of closed-system lavage and intralesional administration of tulathromycin. Treatment for group C (n = 18 lesions) consisted of closed-system lavage and SC administration of tulathromycin. All animals were reexamined approximately 1 month after treatment, unless treatment failure was detected prior to that time.
Results—43 animals with lesions had positive results (Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis) for bacterial culture. Proportions of lesions that had resolution of infection by 1 month after treatment did not differ significantly among the treatment groups (group A, 13/14 [92.9%]; 95% confidence interval [CI], 69.5% to 99.6%; group B, 10/12 [83.3%]; 95% CI, 54.9% to 97.1%; and group C, 14/17 [82.4%]; 95% CI, 59.1% to 95.3%).
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Acceptable alternatives to opening, draining, and flushing of lesions may exist for treatment of sheep and goats with caseous lymphadenitis. Use of tulathromycin and penicillin in this study constituted extralabel drug use, which would require extended withholding times before milk or meat of treated sheep and goats can be sold for human consumption.
Abstract
Antibiograms are important tools for antimicrobial stewardship that are often underutilized in veterinary medicine. Antibiograms summarize cumulative antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) data for specific pathogens over a defined time period; in veterinary medicine, they are often stratified by host species and site of infection. They can aid practitioners with empiric therapy choices and assessment of antimicrobial resistance trends within a population in support of one-health goals for antimicrobial stewardship. For optimal application, consideration must be given to the number of isolates used, the timeframe of sample collection, laboratory analytical methodology, and the patient population contributing to the data (eg, treatment history, geographic region, and production type). There are several limitations to veterinary antibiograms, including a lack of breakpoint availability for bacterial species, a lack of standardization of laboratory methodology and technology for culture and AST, and a lack of funding to staff veterinary diagnostic laboratories at a level that supports antibiogram development and education. It is vital that veterinarians who use antibiograms understand how to apply them in practice and receive relevant information pertaining to the data to utilize the most appropriate antibiogram for their patients. This paper explores the benefits and challenges of developing and using veterinary antibiograms and proposes strategies to enhance their applicability and accuracy. Further detail regarding the application of veterinary antibiograms by privately practicing clinicians is addressed in the companion Currents in One Health article by Lorenz et al (JAVMA, September 2023).
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To compare analgesic efficacy and fetal effects between transdermal administration of fentanyl and IM administration of buprenorphine in pregnant sheep.
ANIMALS
12 healthy pregnant ewes.
PROCEDURES
Before study initiation, each ewe was confirmed pregnant with a single fetus between 113 and 117 days of gestation. Ewes were randomly assigned to receive buprenorphine (0.01 mg/kg, IM, q 8 h for 48 hours beginning 1 hour before anesthesia induction; n = 6) or fentanyl (a combination of transdermal fentanyl patches sufficient to deliver a dose of 2 μg of fentanyl/kg/h applied between the dorsal borders of the scapulae 24 hours before anesthesia induction; 6). Ewes were anesthetized and underwent a surgical procedure to instrument the fetus with an arterial catheter and place a catheter in utero for collection of amniotic fluid samples. Physiologic variables and behavioral changes indicative of pain were assessed, and amniotic fluid and blood samples from ewes and fetuses were collected for determination of drug concentrations at predetermined times.
RESULTS
Both protocols provided acceptable postoperative analgesia with no adverse effects observed in the ewes or fetuses. Compared with the buprenorphine protocol, the fentanyl protocol induced more profound analgesia, decreased the requirement for isoflurane during surgery, and was associated with a shorter anesthesia recovery time. Fetal indices did not differ significantly between the 2 analgesic protocols.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results indicated that both protocols provided acceptable analgesia. However, the fentanyl protocol was superior in regard to the extent of analgesia induced, inhalant-sparing effects, and anesthesia recovery time.
Abstract
Objective—To compare apparent prevalence and patterns of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp in feces collected from pigs reared with antimicrobial-free versus conventional production methods in 8 states in the Midwestern United States.
Design—Cross-sectional study.
Sample Population—95 swine farms that used antimicrobial-free (n = 35) or conventional (60) production methods.
Procedures—Fecal samples from 15 pigs/farm were collected. Biochemical and multiplex-PCR analyses were used to identify Campylobacter spp. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of erythromycin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, gentamicin, and tetracycline for these organisms were determined by use of a commercially available antimicrobial gradient strip. The data were analyzed by use of population-averaged statistical models.
Results—Campylobacter spp were isolated from 512 of 1,422 pigs. A subset (n = 464) of the 512 isolates was available for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The apparent prevalence of Campylobacter spp isolates from pigs on conventional farms (35.8%) and antimicrobial-free farms (36.4%) did not differ significantly. Resistances to azithromycin, erythromycin, and tetracycline were significantly higher on conventional farms (70.0%, 68.3%, and 74.5%, respectively) than antimicrobial-free farms (20.1%, 21.3%, and 48.8%, respectively). Resistances to azithromycin, erythromycin, and tetracycline declined as the number of years that a farm was antimicrobial-free increased.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Production method did not affect the apparent prevalence of Campylobacter spp on swine farms. However, antimicrobial-free farms had a significantly lower prevalence of antimicrobial resistance. Although cessation of antimicrobial drug use will lower resistance over time, investigation of other interventions designed to reduce resistance levels is warranted.
