JAVMA News
A rural Texas clinic reduced conflicts between staff hours and child care needs by establishing its own practice-run day care. In other news, a study found that veterinarians have died from suicide at higher rates than the U.S. mean for at least 35 years.
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Letters to the Editor
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What Is Your Neurologic Diagnosis?
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Anesthesia Case of the Month
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Pathology in Practice
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food animal economics
Cost of retained fetal membranes for dairy herds in the United States
Spreadsheet analysis suggested that the cost of retained fetal membranes, including uncomplicated cases, was comparable to that for other clinical diseases commonly occurring during the transition period in dairy cattle.
See page 1485
public veterinary medicine: public health
Rabies exposures and pre-exposure vaccination practices among individuals with an increased risk of rabies exposure in the United States
A survey of veterinarians, veterinary technicians, animal control workers, and wildlife rehabilitators found that improvements in rabies vaccination and serologic monitoring practices are needed because of the high reported rates of animal bites and potential rabies exposures.
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Book Reviews
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Small Animals
Indwelling urethral catheter placement and risk of recurrent urethral obstruction in cats
The cost of standard treatment for male cats with urethral obstruction has led to a search for alternatives. In a study involving 107 client-owned male cats with UO, hospitalization and indwelling catheterization significantly reduced the risk that UO would recur within the first 30 days after treatment. Results suggested that removal of an indwelling catheter before the urine appears grossly normal may be associated with recurrence of UO. One-time catheterization with outpatient care was inferior to the standard care protocol, but was successful in many cats and may be a reasonable alternative when clients cannot pursue standard care.
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Vitamin D3 concentrations in commercial dog foods and comparison with manufacturer-reported concentrations
Dogs produce negligible vitamin D and must acquire vitamin D through dietary sources. But, diets that are either too high or too low in vitamin D concentration can lead to abnormalities. When 82 commercial dog foods were tested, analyzed vitamin D3 concentrations did not differ significantly from manufacturer-reported concentrations, among foods with different Association of American Feed Control Officials nutritional adequacy statements, or between foods sold only by veterinarians and those sold over the counter. Findings suggested that dog owners can be confident that vitamin D3 intake is adequate for AAFCO-compliant commercial dog foods.
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Lacrimoscopy and fluoroscopically guided stenting for management of nasolacrimal apparatus obstruction in dogs
The nasolacrimal apparatus consists of the paired lacrimal puncta and canaliculi, lacrimal sac, and nasolacrimal duct. Obstructions of the NLA can be intraluminal, intramural, or extraluminal, and medical management is almost universally unsuccessful in permanently resolving the obstruction. In contrast, when 16 client-owned dogs with confirmed NLA obstruction were treated with a minimally invasive approach combining lacrimoscopy and fluoroscopically guided stenting, owners of all dogs reported at least 60% clinical improvement. Median improvement was rated as 95%, with owners of 8 dogs reporting complete resolution of signs.
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Complications of partial maxillectomy for the treatment of oral tumors in dogs
In a review of records for 193 dogs that underwent maxillectomy for oral tumor excision, the most common intraoperative complication was excessive surgical bleeding (103/193 [53.4%]), for which 44 (42.7%) dogs received an intraoperative blood transfusion. Complications developing within 48 hours after surgery included epistaxis (99 [51.3%]), excessive facial swelling (71 [36.8%]), facial pawing (21 [10.9%]), and difficulty eating (22 [11.4%]). Complications developing in 164 dogs within 48 hours to 4 weeks after surgery included lip trauma (22 [13.4%]), oronasal fistula formation (18 [11.0%]), wound dehiscence (18 [11.0%]), and infection (13 [7.9%]).
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Zoo Animals
Laparoscopic ovariectomy with a single-port multiple-access device in seven African lionesses
Seven privately owned female African lions (Panthera leo) that were housed in outdoor pens underwent elective ovariectomy by means of a single-incision laparoscopic approach with a single-port multiple-access device. Because of the depth of subcutaneous fat, extensive subcutaneous dissection was necessary to insert the single-port device. In contrast, fat content of the mesovarium was minimal and did not vary markedly between animals. Subjectively, single-incision laparoscopic ovariectomy was easily performed and no perioperative complications were encountered; however, all surgeons had experience in laparoscopic surgery.
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Aquatic Animals
Tricaine methanesulfonate or propofol for immersion euthanasia of goldfish
Tricaine methanesulfonate is widely used as an immersion euthanasia agent in fish. However, when goldfish (Carassius auratus; n = 6/group) were immersed in TMS at a concentration of 500 mg/L (ie, 10 times the anesthetic concentration) for 15 or 30 minutes, TMS at a concentration of 1,000 mg/L for 15 minutes, or propofol at a concentration of 25 mg/L (ie, 5 times the anesthetic concentration) for 30 minutes and then returned to anesthetic-free water or were immersed in TMS (500 mg/L) for 15 minutes and left out of water, 28 of the 30 fish survived. In fish immersed in TMS (500 mg/L) for 15 minutes and decapitated, myocardial contractions continued for 30 minutes to 4 hours.
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