JAVMA News
Practitioners now can access a comprehensive resources toolbox to help increase preventive care for pets, and the AVMA will give $1 million toward a related consumer education campaign. About 2.4 percent fewer households own pets than did in 2006, although visits to veterinarians and veterinary spending have increased.
See page 660
Letters to the Editor
See page 690
What Is Your Diagnosis?
See page 693
Theriogenology Question of the Month
See page 697
Pathology in Practice
See pages 703, 707
public veterinary medicine: public health
Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2011
During 2011, 49 states and Puerto Rico reported 6,031 rabid animals and 6 human rabies cases to the CDC, representing a 1.9% decrease from the 6,153 rabid animals and 2 human cases reported in 2010. Approximately 92% of reported rabid animals were wildlife.
See page 712
public veterinary medicine: public health
Control of terrestrial animal rabies in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, after oral vaccination of raccoons
Retrospective analysis of surveillance data indicated that an oral rabies vaccination project contributed to a significant decrease in the annual incidence of terrestrial animal rabies in Anne Arundel County, Md. Differences in bait type and time of year for bait distribution may have led to differences in seroprevalence of rabies virus–neutralizing antibodies.
See page 725
Book Reviews: For Your Library
See page 737
Healing of radius-ulna fractures in dogs after minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis versus open reduction and internal fixation
Results of a prospective cohort study involving 16 dogs with radius-ulna fractures suggest that use of a minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis technique may result in faster healing than traditional open reduction and internal fixation. Fractures in dogs that underwent MIPO healed in a mean of 30 days (SD, 10.5 days), compared with a mean of 64 days (SD, 10.1 days) for dogs that underwent ORIF. Radiography revealed that fractures in dogs that underwent MIPO healed with significantly more callus formation than did fractures in dogs that underwent ORIF. Although Doppler ultrasonography revealed abundant vascularization in fractures that were healing following MIPO, no significant difference in neovascularization scores was found between groups.
See page 744
Effect of extradurally administered morphine on postoperative analgesia in dogs undergoing surgery for thoracolumbar intervertebral disk extrusion
Intraoperative extradural administration of morphine may be effective in reducing the postoperative analgesic requirement in dogs undergoing surgery for thoracolumbar intervertebral disk extrusion, according to results of a new study. In the study, 26 dogs were randomly allocated to receive morphine (0.1 mg/kg [0.045 mg/lb]) extradurally or no treatment. All dogs were premedicated with methadone, anesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with sevoflurane or isoflurane, and lidocaine and fentanyl were administered during surgery. Morphine was applied directly to the dura mater immediately prior to wound closure. Eleven of 13 dogs in the control group but only 2 of 13 dogs in the morphine group required methadone postoperatively.
See page 754
Clinical and clinicopathologic abnormalities in young dogs with acquired and congenital portosystemic shunts
Because treatment options and prognosis differ for dogs with congenital versus acquired portosystemic shunts, it would be useful to identify clinical characteristics that could be used to differentiate dogs with these conditions. A new review of medical records for 93 dogs < 30 months old with congenital (n = 62) or acquired (31) PSSs did identify several clinicopathologic variables that differed between dogs with congenital and acquired PSSs. However, when assessed alone, these variables would be unlikely to enable differentiation between dogs with the 2 conditions. The sole exception was ascites, in that dogs with ascites were substantially more likely to have acquired PSSs than congenital PSSs.
See page 760
Use of a spiral rectal diaphragm technique to control anal sphincter incontinence in a cat
A 10-year-old castrated male cat was examined because of a fibrosarcoma involving the right anal sac region. Surgical removal was performed on 4 occasions, including complete resection of the anal sphincter muscles and portions of the rectum. A perineal urethrostomy was performed because of tumor invasion of the preputial tissues. To reduce involuntary loss of feces, the remaining rectal wall was rotated approximately 225° prior to surgical closure during the second, third, and fourth surgical procedures to create a natural spiral diaphragm within the rectal lumen. This reduced inadvertent fecal loss and facilitated fecal distention of the colon, allowing the cat to anticipate the impending passage of feces and use the litter tray.
See page 766
Musculoskeletal Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in horses
Abscess formation in the deep musculoskeletal structures of the limbs with resultant lameness is an uncommon form of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in horses. Results of a new review of medical records for 35 horses with musculoskeletal C pseudotuberculosis infection illustrate the difficulties associated with diagnosing this condition. Most horses had severe lameness (32 with grade 4/5 lameness and 3 with grade 5/5 lameness), and abscesses were identified by means of clinical or ultrasonographic examination. Abscesses were located in the axillary or triceps region in 25 horses, the stifle region in 2, and the popliteal lymph node in 1. The prognosis was typically favorable, except in horses with osteomyelitis or septic arthritis.
See page 771
Laparoscopic-assisted urinary bladder marsupialization in a goat with recurrent urethral obstruction following perineal urethrostomy
A 5-year-old castrated male goat was examined because of recurrent urethral obstruction after undergoing perineal urethrostomy 1.5 years earlier. The site was patent, but a moderate stricture was found just cranial to the perineal urethrostomy site. Laparoscopically assisted urinary bladder marsupialization was recommended. The goat recovered well from surgery and was discharged the day following surgery. Follow-up examinations were done every few months after surgery, and dermatitis of the abdominal skin secondary to urine scald was the only postoperative complication. After 9 months of follow-up, the goat continued to pass urine through the marsupialization site comfortably.
See page 778
Assessment of on-screen measurements, magnification, and calibration in digital radiography
When digital radiography is used, a reference object of known diameter must be captured in the radiograph to allow the measurement error associated with magnification to be calibrated. In a study evaluating measurement accuracy associated with various calibration methods used with digital radiography, manual calibration was found to provide the most accurate measurements, compared with autocalibration or the use of no calibration. It was found that the calibration ball should be placed at the same vertical height as the object to be measured, but that if this cannot be achieved, the magnification error can be expected to be approximately 1% per centimeter of vertical distance between the two.
See page 782
