JAVMA News
657
Read about fast-tracking of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, the visions of two president-elect candidates, how AVMA members will benefit from a reclassified system for personal information, questionable use of Tamiflu to prevent or treat canine influenza, equine plasma concerns, part-time practice trends, and progress in the AVMA/Heifer International tsunami project.
Views
Letters to the Editor
683
Veterinary Medicine Today
What Is Your Diagnosis?
An 8-year-old cat evaluated because of increased respiratory effort and inspiratory dyspnea
693
A 1.5-year-old dog examined because of lethargy and anorexia
695
Diagnostic Imaging in Veterinary Dental Practice
697
Timely Topics in Nutrition
Docosahexaenoic acid and neurologic development in animals
700
Feeding dams a diet enriched with DHA during gestation and lactation has been associated with improvements in neurologic development of their puppies. Also, feeding diets or supplements containing DHA may improve memory or learning in young dogs.
Reference Point
Antimicrobial regional limb perfusion in horses
706
Regional limb perfusion involves administration of an antimicrobial solution into the vasculature of a selected portion of the limb that has been isolated from the systemic circulation by controlled application of a tourniquet. The technique provides high antimicrobial concentrations in the region of interest and greatly contributes to the elimination of infection.
Scientific Reports
SMALL ANIMALS
Veterinarian-client-patient communication patterns
714
Three patterns of communication have been identified in studies of physician-patient communication, and communication pattern use has been related to both patient and physician satisfaction. Analysis of video-tapes of 300 clinical appointments suggested that veterinarians in companion animal practice use 2 distinct patterns of communication. Recognition of these communication patterns has implications for veterinary training, patient outcomes, and client satisfaction.
Lower urinary tract disease in indoor-housed cats
722
An association between indoor housing and signs of LUTD in cats has long been recognized. However, there has been a suggestion the risk that signs of LUTD will develop may be higher for certain indoor-housed cats than for others. In a case-control study of healthy cats, cats with signs of LUTD, and cats with other diseases, environmental factors associated with signs of LUTD were not identified. However, a number of behavioral and physical differences between healthy cats and cats with signs of LUTD were identified, suggesting that cat-related factors may be important for expression of signs of LUTD in indoor-housed cats.
Protection from challenge following administration of a canarypox virus–vectored recombinant FeLV vaccine
726
An rCP-FeLV vaccine has been licensed by the USDA for use in cats, raising questions as to whether administration of a single dose of this vaccine would be effective in inducing a protective immunologic response in cats previously vaccinated with a killed FeLV vaccine. Results of a prospective study suggest that protection against FeLV challenge obtained following SC administration of a single dose of an FeLV-k vaccine followed, 21 days later, by transdermal administration of a single dose of an rCP-FeLV vaccine was similar to that obtained following SC administration of 2 doses of the FeLV-k vaccine 21 days apart.
Selection of a hematopoietic cell transplant donor for a dog with T-cell lymphoma
728
Systemic chemotherapy is presently the treatment of choice for dogs with lymphoma, but most dogs die within 12 months because of development of multidrug resistance. Hematopoietic cell transplantation appears to be a promising adjunctive treatment, although early studies of this treatment reported high complication rates. Outcomes of HCT may be improved, in part, through the use of molecular dog leukocyte antigen typing to improve donor selection.
Computed tomography of lung lesions associated with spontaneous pneumothorax in dogs
733
Rhinoscopy and sinuscopy in dogs with aspergillosis
738
Diagnosis of nasal aspergillosis relies on a combination of characteristic findings on radiography or computed tomography, rhinoscopy, histopathology, fungal culture, and fungal serology. Detection of fungal plaques is an important criterion in the diagnosis of nasal aspergillosis in dogs, but fungal plaques may not be evident during rhinoscopy in all affected dogs. Review of the medical records of 46 dogs with nasal aspergillosis revealed fungal plaques in the nasal cavity of 38 (83%). In 8 (17%), fungal plaques were only seen in the frontal sinus following frontal sinus trephination and sinuscopy.
Renal transplantation in cats with calcium oxalate urolithiasis
743
Current guidelines suggest that renal transplantation not be performed in cats with renal failure secondary to calcium oxalate urolithiasis because of concerns that uroliths will form within the graft, resulting in graft failure. In contrast, survival time for 19 cats that underwent renal transplantation because of chronic renal failure secondary to calcium oxalate urolithiasis was not significantly different from survival time for 49 control cats that underwent renal transplantation because of renal failure unrelated to urolithiasis. However, 5 of the 19 cats developed calculi within the allograft.
EQUINE
Characterization of Clostridium difficile isolates from horses
751
Clostridium difficile has been associated with diarrhea and colitis in various species. Various genetic strains or clones of C difficile have been associated with diarrhea and colitis in humans, and an association between strain type and severity of clinical disease has been established. However, to the authors’ knowledge, a large-scale evaluation of equine isolates has not been reported. Results indicated that toxigenicity and antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates vary and that metronidazole-resistant strains may be associated with severe disease.
RUMINANTS
Pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure in an adult llama
756
