Objective—To describe the contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic characteristics and vascular patterns of adrenal gland tumors in dogs and determine whether those features are indicative of malignancy or histologic type of tumor. Animals—14 dogs with 16 adrenal gland lesions (10 carcinomas [8 dogs], 3 adenomas [3 dogs], and 3 pheochromocytomas [3 dogs]). Procedures—Unsedated dogs with adrenal gland lesions underwent B-mode ultrasonography and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography ≤ 48 hours before adrenalectomy; contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic examinations were video-recorded. Macroscopic evaluation of the adrenal gland lesions and histologic examination of removed adrenal gland tissues were subsequently performed. Surgical and histopathologic findings and the ultrasonographic and contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic characteristics were recorded for the various tumor types. Time-intensity curves were generated from the contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic recordings and used to calculate regional blood volume (value proportional to area under the curve) and mean transit time (time the lesion began to enhance to the half-peak intensity). Results—In adrenal gland carcinomas, tortuous feeding vessels were noticeable during the arterial and venous phases of contrast enhancement. Heterogeneity of contrast enhancement was evident only in malignant tumors. Compared with adenomas, adrenal gland carcinomas and pheochromocytomas had significantly less regional blood volume. Mean transit times were significantly shorter in adrenal gland carcinomas and pheochromocytomas than in adenomas. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—For dogs, evaluation of the vascular pattern and contrast-enhancement characteristics of adrenal gland tumors by means of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography may be useful in assessment of malignancy and tumor type.

Objective-To evaluate intra-articular autologous protein solution (APS) for the treatment of osteoarthritis in horses. Animals-40 client-owned horses with naturally occuring osteoarthritis. Procedures-APS was generated from a dual-device system that concentrated plasma and WBC proteins and enriched platelet growth factors. Horses were randomly assigned to receive an intra-articular injection of 5 mL of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (n = 20) or APS (20), exercised on a treadmill, and evaluated on the basis of lameness grades, kinetic gait analysis, joint circumference, and range of motion for 14 days. Horses that received saline solution were administered APS at termination of the study, and clients scored horses for lameness and discomfort before, 12 weeks after, and 52 weeks after the APS injection. Results-The APS group had significant improvements in lameness grade, asymmetry indices of vertical peak force, and range of joint motion by 14 days, compared with baseline or control group values. No adverse effects associated with APS treatment were evident. Clients assessed lameness and comfort as improved at 12 and 52 weeks. The APS had greater likelihood (OR, 4.3 to 30.0) of a therapeutic response in horses with a lameness score < 4, < 10% vertical force asymmetry, or absence of marked osteophyte formation, subchondral sclerosis, or joint space narrowing. Concentration of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in APS was 5.8 times that in blood. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Intra-articular administration of APS can be considered an effective treatment option for equine osteoarthritis, with the potential for disease-modifying effects.

Objective—To determine the skin temperature of the metacarpus in horses associated with the use of bandages and tendon boots, compared with the bare limb, at rest and after 20 minutes of lunging. Animals—10 adult horses. Procedures—Skin temperature on the bare metacarpus of both forelimbs was measured at rest and after lunging. Subsequently, a bandage was applied to the left metacarpus and a tendon boot to the right metacarpus and skin temperature was measured at rest and after lunging. Skin temperature was measured with fixed sensors and thermographically. Results—Mean ± SD skin temperatures of the bare metacarpi were 14.1 ± 2.4°C (left) and 14.1 ± 3.4°C (right) at rest, and 14.4 ± 1.8°C (left) and 13.6 ± 2.6°C (right) after exercise. Skin temperatures under the bandage were 15.3 ± 1.6°C at rest and 24.8 ± 3.6°C after exercise. Skin temperatures under the tendon boot were 15.3 ± 2.6°C at rest and 20.6 ± 2.9°C after exercise. Skin temperatures under the bandage and tendon boot were significantly higher after exercise than at rest. Skin temperatures at rest were not significantly different with a bare limb, bandage, or tendon boot. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Skin temperature of the metacarpus in horses increased significantly during exercise but not at rest when a bandage or tendon boot was used. The authors speculate that both a bandage and a tendon boot accelerate the warmup phase of exercise. Further research should focus on the effects of warmup and maximum exercise on the temperature of other anatomic structures such as tendons.

Objective-To compare bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid obtained by manual aspiration (MA) with a handheld syringe with that obtained by suction pump aspiration (SPA) in healthy dogs. Animals-13 adult Beagles. Procedures-Each dog was anesthetized and bronchoscopic BAL was performed. The MA technique was accomplished with a 35-mL syringe attached to the bronchoscope biopsy channel. The SPA technique was achieved with negative pressure (5 kPa) applied to the bronchoscope suction valve with a disposable suction trap. Both aspiration techniques were performed in each dog in randomized order on opposite caudal lung lobes. Two 1 mL/kg aliquots of warm saline (0.9% NaCl) solution were infused per site. For each BAL fluid sample, the percentage of retrieved fluid was calculated, the total nucleated cell count (TNCC) and differential cell count were determined, and semiquantitative assessment of slide quality was performed. Comparisons were made between MA and SPA techniques for each outcome. Results-1 dog was removed from the study because of illness. The mean percentage of fluid retrieved (mean difference, 23%) and median TNCC (median distribution of differences, 100 cells/μL) for samples obtained by SPA were significantly greater than those for samples obtained by MA. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-In healthy dogs, BAL by SPA resulted in a significantly higher percentage of fluid retrieval and samples with a higher TNCC than did MA. Further evaluation of aspiration techniques in dogs with respiratory tract disease is required to assess whether SPA improves the diagnostic yield of BAL samples.

The objective of this study was to estimate the population size of Canadian poultry farms in 3 subpopulations (British Columbia, Ontario, and Other) by poultry category. We used data for 2008 to 2011 from the Canadian Notifiable Avian Influenza (NAI) Surveillance System (CanNAISS). Log-linear capture-recapture models were applied to estimate the number of commercial chicken and turkey farms. The estimated size of farm populations was validated by comparing sizes to data provided by the Canadian poultry industry in 2007, which were assumed to be complete and exhaustive. Our results showed that the log-linear modelling approach was an appropriate tool to estimate the population size of Canadian commercial chicken and turkey farms. The 2007 farm population size for each poultry category was included in the 95% confidence intervals of the farm population size estimates. Log-linear capture-recapture modelling might be useful for estimating the number of farms using surveillance data when no comprehensive registry exists.

Objective—To evaluate the effects of a dexmedetomidine constant rate infusion (CRI) and atropine on changes in global perfusion variables induced by hemorrhage and volume replacement (VR) in isoflurane-anesthetized dogs. Animals—8 adult dogs. Procedures—Each dog was anesthetized twice, with a 2-week interval between anesthetic sessions. Anesthesia was maintained with 1.3 times the minimum alveolar concentration of isoflurane with and without dexmedetomidine (1.6 μg/kg, IV bolus, followed by 2 μg/kg/h, CRI). Dogs were mechanically ventilated and received an atracurium neuromuscular blockade during both sessions. During anesthesia with isoflurane and dexmedetomidine, atropine was administered 30 minutes before baseline measurements were obtained. After baseline data were recorded, 30% of the total blood volume was progressively withdrawn and VR was achieved with an equal proportion of autologous blood. Results—Following hemorrhage, cardiac index, oxygen delivery index, and mixed-venous oxygen saturation were significantly decreased and the oxygen extraction ratio was significantly increased from baseline. The anaerobic threshold was not achieved during either anesthetic session. When dogs were anesthetized with isoflurane and dexmedetomidine, they had a significantly lower heart rate, cardiac index, and mixed-venous oxygen saturation during VR than they did when anesthetized with isoflurane alone. Plasma lactate concentration, mixed venous-to-arterial carbon dioxide difference, base excess, and anion gap were unaltered by hemorrhage and VR and did not differ between anesthetic sessions. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that the use of a dexmedetomidine CRI combined with atropine in isoflurane-anesthetized dogs that underwent volume-controlled hemorrhage followed by VR did not compromise global perfusion sufficiently to result in anaerobic metabolism.

Objective—To construct and optimize a fiducial marker suitable for both CT and MRI. Sample—Fiducial markers containing serial dilutions of iopamidol mixed with water. Procedures—IV tubing sets were infused with serial dilutions (0% to 100%; increments of 10%) of iopamidol. Tubing ends were sealed; additional seals were added to create an equilateral triangle. A reference point was created by placing a crimp in 1 side. Markers were fixed to a gelatin soft tissue–attenuating phantom and evaluated by use of CT and MRI. For CT, simple linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the percentage of marker contrast medium and quantitative variables, including marker attenuation, attenuation changes in the phantom, and beam-hardening artifact length. A subjective grading scheme for artifact creation on CT images and marker visibility on MRI images was used. Measurements were obtained by investigators who were unaware of the contents of each marker. Results—Percentage of contrast medium in each marker was strongly correlated with marker attenuation (r2 = 0.96), artifact length (r2 = 0.765), and mean attenuation changes within the phantom (r2 = 0.826) for CT. Subjective CT scores indicated that concentrations of contrast medium > 50% resulted in excessive artifacts. Markers with concentrations of iopamidol > 50% had poor subjective MRI visibility scores. No artifacts were seen on MRI. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—A marker containing a 10% solution of iodinated contrast medium mixed with water provided ideal contrast for both CT and MRI.

Objective—To determine the pharmacokinetics of cefovecin sodium after SC administration to Hermann's tortoises (Testudo hermanni). Animals—23 healthy adult Hermann's tortoises (15 males and 8 females). Procedures—Cefovecin (8.0 mg/kg) was injected once in the subcutis of the neck region of Hermann's tortoises, and blood samples were obtained at predetermined time points. Plasma cefovecin concentrations were measured via ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated with a noncompartmental model. Plasma protein concentration was quantified, and the percentage of cefovecin bound to protein was estimated with a centrifugation technique. Results—Cefovecin was absorbed rapidly, reaching maximum plasma concentrations between 35 minutes and 2 hours after administration, with the exception of 1 group, in which it was reached after 4 hours. The mean ± SD time to maximum concentration was 1.22 ± 1.14 hours; area under the concentration-time curve was 220.35 ± 36.18 h•μg/mL The mean protein-bound fraction of cefovecin ranged from 41.3% to 47.5%. No adverse effects were observed. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Administration of a single dose of cefovecin SC appeared to be well-tolerated in this population of tortoises. Results of pharmacokinetic analysis indicated that the 2-week dosing interval suggested for dogs and cats cannot be considered effective in tortoises; however, further research is needed to determine therapeutic concentrations of the drug and appropriate dose ranges.

Objective—To evaluate the postoperative analgesic effects of epidural administration of morphine and neostigmine, either alone or in combination, in dogs. Animals—30 dogs undergoing orthopedic surgery on a pelvic limb. Procedures—Anesthetic protocols were standardized. At the end of surgery, 10 dogs each received 1 of 3 epidural treatments: morphine (0.1 mg/kg), neostigmine (5 μg/kg), or morphine plus neostigmine (0.1 mg/kg and 5 μg/kg, respectively). Postoperative pain scores and the need for rescue analgesia were evaluated for 24 hours. Results—Pain scores were higher in the neostigmine group, compared with scores for the morphine-neostigmine group, at 2 and 24 hours after surgery and higher in the morphine group than in the morphine-neostigmine group at 2 and 4 hours. During 24 hours, rescue analgesia was provided for 4, 7, and 2 of 10 dogs each in the morphine, neostigmine, and morphine-neostigmine groups, respectively. The number of dogs given rescue analgesia was significantly different among groups at 2, 3, 4, and 6 hours after surgery. Dogs in the morphine and morphine-neostigmine groups had a lower probability of receiving rescue analgesia within 24 hours than did dogs in the neostigmine group. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—When administered epidurally, morphine alone or in combination with neostigmine provided effective postoperative analgesia in most dogs after orthopedic surgery, whereas neostigmine alone did not. Findings for this study suggested a potential role for neostigmine as an adjuvant for epidural analgesia in dogs undergoing orthopedic surgeries on the pelvic limbs.

Although benfotiamine has various beneficial anti-diabetic effects, the detailed mechanisms underlying the impact of this compound on the insulin signaling pathway are still unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of benfotiamine on the hepatic insulin signaling pathway in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, which are a type 2 diabetes mellitus model. OLETF rats treated with benfotiamine showed decreased body weight gain and reduced adipose tissue weight. In addition, blood glucose levels were lower in OLETF rats treated with benfotiamine. Following treatment with benfotiamine, the levels of Akt phosphorylation (S473/T308) in the OLETF groups increased significantly compared to the OLETF control group so that they were almost identical to the levels observed in the control group. Moreover, benfotiamine restored the phosphorylation levels of both glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3¥�/¥�(S21, S9) and glycogen synthase (GS; S641) in OLETF rats to nearly the same levels observed in the control group. Overall, these results suggest that benfotiamine can potentially attenuate type 2 diabetes mellitus in OLETF rats by restoring insulin sensitivity through upregulation of Akt phosphorylation and activation of two downstream signaling molecules, GSK-3¥�/¥� and GS, thereby reducing blood glucose levels through glycogen synthesis.