JAVMA News
Leaders in veterinary education want veterinarians of the future to be adaptable to societal changes, even if developing new education models leads to abandoning longstanding practices. After years of growth, many veterinary specialty practices are losing revenue as the effects of the recession cause potential clients to scrutinize expenses.
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Letters to the Editor
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What Is Your Diagnosis?
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Pathology in Practice
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Book Reviews: For Your Library
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Use of pheromones for treatment of undesirable behavior in cats and dogs
A synthetic analogue of the facial pheromone in cats and a structural analogue of the appeasing maternal pheromone in dogs have been marketed as methods for controlling or managing undesirable behaviors. Although the use of pheromones to control undesirable behaviors is appealing, a systematic review of the published literature from 1998 through 2008 questions their effectiveness. Only 14 reports of prospective studies (7 involving dogs and 7 involving cats) were identified. Of these, 11 provided insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness and 1 did not provide support for effectiveness. Only 1 study provided sufficient evidence that dog-appeasing pheromone reduces fear or anxiety in dogs during training.
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Prevalence of protective antibody titers for canine distemper virus and canine parvovirus in dogs entering an animal shelter
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Complications associated with use of SC vascular access ports in cats and dogs undergoing fractionated radiotherapy
Results of a retrospective case series suggest that use of a SC vascular access port may be a useful alternative to repeated catheterization in cats and dogs undergoing fractionated radiotherapy. In the study, medical records were reviewed for 46 cats and 126 dogs undergoing radiation therapy in which a SC vascular access port had been placed. Overall, 18 major and 36 minor complications were identified. Females were more likely to have major complications than were males, animals in which propofol was not used were more likely to have major complications than were animals in which propofol was used, and animals with a femoral catheter were more likely to have minor complications than were animals with a jugular catheter.
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A lateral extraluminal approach for excision of a congenital laryngeal cyst in a dog
A 5-month-old dog that was evaluated because of stridor, exercise intolerance, and dyspnea was found to have a large, soft, spherical mass between the left arytenoid and thyroid cartilages and axial to the left ceratohyoid bone that was causing partial obstruction of the rima glottidis. The mass was identified as a congenital laryngeal cyst. Complete excision was successfully performed via a lateral extraluminal approach to the larynx. During a follow-up examination 12 months after surgery, the dog was clinically normal with no evidence of recurrence of clinical signs. Laryngoscopic examination did not reveal any recurrence of the cyst or pathologic changes in the laryngeal region.
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Demographic characteristics of horses donated to the NCSU Equine Health Center
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Factors associated with multiple antimicrobial resistance in fecal Escherichia coli isolates from cattle
The impact of antimicrobial use in animal agriculture on antimicrobial resistance has been an important topic of discussion. In a cross-sectional field study involving 1,736 fecal samples from cattle on 38 farms in California, Oregon, and Washington, however, the prevalence of multiple antimicrobial resistance among fecal Escherichia coli isolates was influenced by factors not directly associated with the use of antimicrobials, including geographic region, farm type, animal age, and animal purpose (beef vs dairy). Findings indicate that a better understanding of the epidemiologic characteristics of antimicrobial resistance is necessary to develop measures to mitigate risks of antimicrobial resistance in animals and humans.
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