JAVMA News
The most common ailments for dogs and cats are also mostly preventable, according to a study of medical records for 2.5 million pets. In another study, data from nearly 75,000 dogs representing 82 breeds were used to examine mortality rates by age, size, and breed over the past 20 years.
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commentary
Ethical considerations raised by the provision of freebies to veterinary students
Despite the popularity of corporate freebies provided to veterinary students, questions arise regarding their ethical implications. Specifically, does the provision of these corporate freebies to veterinary students conflict with the professional and ethical obligations veterinarians have to their patients and to society as a whole?
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public veterinary medicine: public health
Avian influenza surveillance and reporting needs of stakeholders in Michigan
Integration of Internet-related data systems and stakeholder communication is likely to promote earlier identification of avian influenza, result in more effective responses to outbreaks, reduce morbidity among humans and other animals, and decrease outbreak-associated financial losses.
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Book Reviews: For Your Library
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Book Reviews: For Your Client's Library
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Effect of single-site and multiple-site disk fenestration on rate of recurrence of thoracolumbar intervertebral disk herniation in dogs
The efficacy of prophylactic disk fenestration to prevent future herniation at nonaffected disk spaces remains controversial. A new study, however, provides evidence that multiple-site disk fenestration at the time of decompressive surgery in dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disk herniation decreases the incidence of recurrence, compared with single-site disk fenestration. In the study, 207 dogs were randomly assigned to undergo single-site disk fenestration at the level of surgical decompression (n = 103) or multiple-site disk fenestration of all disks from T11 through L4 (104). First-time recurrence rates for the single-and multiple-site disk fenestration groups were 17.89% (17/95) and 7.45% (7/94), respectively.
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Agreement for results of myelography, computed tomography-myelography, and low-field magnetic resonance imaging in dogs with disk-associated wobbler syndrome
Over the past several years, various imaging techniques have been used to diagnose disk-associated wobbler syndrome in dogs, but little is known about the relative contributions of these individual techniques in the assessment of anatomic structures involved in this disorder. In a study of 22 dogs with DAWS that underwent myelography, computed tomography-myelography, and low-field magnetic resonance imaging and in which images were assessed twice by 4 observers, there was considerable variation in image interpretation among observers and in use of the various techniques to identify specific disorders. Findings suggested that these imaging techniques should be considered complementary in the assessment of dogs with DAWS.
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Analysis of solicitation of client concerns in companion animal practice
According to results of a new study, not soliciting client concerns at the beginning of a veterinary appointment increases the odds of a concern arising during the final moments of the interaction. This requires the veterinarian to choose among extending the appointment to address the concern, ignoring the concern at a possible cost to client satisfaction, or deferring the concern to another visit. The study involved 20 veterinarians in companion animal practice in Ontario. Appointments with 334 clients and their pets were videotaped and examined. The odds of a new concern arising during the closing segment of an appointment were 4 times as great when the appointment did not contain a veterinarian solicitation at the beginning of the interview.
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Multiple endocrine diseases in dogs
In a study of 35 dogs with 2 or more endocrine disorders, the most common combination of endocrine disorders was diabetes mellitus and hyperadrenocorticism, followed by hypoadre-nocorticism and hypothyroidism and by diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism. Twenty-seven (77%) of the dogs were male, and mean age at the time of diagnosis of the first endocrinopathy was 7.9 years. Miniature Schnauzer was the most common breed. Twenty-eight (80%) dogs had 2 endocrine disorders and 7 (20%) had 3 disorders. A mean of 14.5 months elapsed between diagnosis of the first and second endocrine disorders; a mean of 31.1 months elapsed between diagnosis of the first and third endocrine disorders.
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Clinical factors associated with outcome in dogs with generalized megaesophagus
There is little published information on factors associated with outcome for dogs with megaesophagus. In a study in which 71 dogs with radiographic evidence of generalized esophageal dilation were followed up long-term, only radiographic evidence of aspiration pneumonia and age at the onset of clinical signs were found to be significantly associated with outcome. Dogs with radiographic evidence of aspiration pneumonia were more likely to die before discharge and less likely to survive long-term. An onset of clinical signs after 13 months of age was also negatively associated with survival long-term. There was no evidence that degree of esophageal dilation or use of drugs to prevent or treat esophagitis was associated with outcome.
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Sedation and analgesia in standing horses after administration of xylazine, butorphanol, and subanesthetic doses of ketamine
Sedation of horses for diagnostic or surgical procedures is a routine component of equine veterinary practice. In a study in which 10 adult horses were sedated multiple times by administration of xylazine, xylazine and butorphanol, xylazine with 1 of 2 dosages of ketamine, or xylazine and butorphanol with 1 of 2 dosages of ketamine, no significant differences were detected among sedation treatments for head height, response to noise, or response to arthrocenteses. Administration of a subanesthetic dosage of ketamine with xylazine and butorphanol facilitated certain procedures, such as insertion of a dental float, and enhanced tolerance to pressure stimulation, but worsened responses to acute pain, such as that caused by a needle prick.
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Epiglottic abnormalities in mature nonracehorses
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