Lavage with at least 2.5 mL/cm sterile saline reduces bacterial load in a subcutaneous tissue model.

Objective: To quantify the volume of lavage required to decrease the bacterial load below a standard of 105 CFUs/mL on a subcutaneous tissue model.

Methods: This was a benchtop experimental study conducted between May 1, 2023, through July 31, 2023 that included 20 sterile silicone skin models with a 10-cm incision. The silicone skin model was inoculated with a 1,000-fold dilution of approximately 1.

Use of peri-incisional liposomal bupivacaine was not different than placebo regarding pain score or rescue analgesia in a randomized clinical trial of 83 dogs.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of peri-incisional liposomal bupivacaine (LB) on postoperative pain scores, opioid use after soft tissue surgeries, and incidence of incision site complications in dogs.

Methods: Client-owned dogs (n = 83) were enrolled in a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study for dogs undergoing a variety of soft tissue surgical procedures between March 31, 2021, and August 18, 2022. After incision closure, an injection of a placebo (0.

Traumatic brain injury in companion animals: Pathophysiology and treatment.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are common in dogs and cats that have sustained head trauma from a variety of causes. In moderate to severe TBI, damage from both the primary and secondary injuries can be life-threatening. TBI management may be further complicated by concurrent injuries in polytrauma patients.

Comparison of remote and in-person respiratory function grading of brachycephalic dogs.

Objective: To compare the reliability of respiratory function grading (RFG) scores assigned in-person and remotely via video and electronic stethoscope recordings, evaluated by novice and expert graders.

Study Design: Prospective study.

Sample Population: Fifty-seven brachycephalic dogs.

The "Claw Sign" may aid in axial localization in cases of peripherally located canine glioma on MRI.

The "claw sign" is a radiographic sign studied in human imaging to determine if a mass arises from a solid structure or organ versus a close adjacent location, resulting in distortion of the outline of an organ. We investigated its utility in characterizing MRI axial localization of peripherally located intracranial glioma versus meningioma, due to their overlap in MRI appearance. This retrospective, secondary analysis, cross-sectional study aimed to report the sensitivity, specificity, and inter- and intraobserver variabilities using kappa statistics, hypothesizing that the claw sign will have strong inter- and intraobserver agreement (κ > 0.

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detects Myocardial Abnormalities in Naturally Infected Dogs with Chronic Asymptomatic Chagas Disease.

infection causes inflammation and fibrosis, resulting in cardiac damage in dogs. The objectives of this study were to describe cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in naturally infected dogs with chronic Chagas disease and the frequency of abnormalities for CMR and cardiac diagnostic tests. Ten asymptomatic, client-owned dogs seropositive for were prospectively enrolled in an observational study evaluating echocardiography, ECG (standard and ambulatory), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), and CMR.

Effect of withholding food versus feeding on creatinine, symmetric dimethylarginine, cholesterol, triglycerides, and other biochemical analytes in 100 healthy dogs.

Background: Withholding food is often recommended before collection of blood for routine biochemical analysis in dogs despite a paucity of evidence to support this requirement.

Objectives: To compare measurements of selected biochemical analytes collected before and after feeding in clinically healthy dogs.

Animals: One hundred clinically healthy staff- and student-owned dogs weighing ≥15 kg.

Tralesinidase Alfa Enzyme Replacement Therapy Prevents Disease Manifestations in a Canine Model of Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IIIB.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB (MPS IIIB; Sanfilippo syndrome B; OMIM #252920) is a lethal, pediatric, neuropathic, autosomal recessive, and lysosomal storage disease with no approved therapy. Patients are deficient in the activity of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase (NAGLU; EC 3.2.

Agreement and differentiation of intradural spinal cord lesions in dogs using magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging is the method of choice for diagnosing spinal cord neoplasia, but the accuracy of designating the relationship of a neoplasm to the meninges and agreement among observers is unknown.

Objectives: To determine agreement among observers and accuracy of diagnosis compared with histology when diagnosing lesion location based on relationship to the meninges.

Animals: Magnetic resonance images from 53 dogs with intradural extramedullary and intramedullary spinal neoplasms and 17 dogs with degenerative myelopathy.

The impact of a surgical checklist on surgical outcomes in an academic institution.

Objective: To determine the influence of a surgical checklist (SC) on morbidities and compliance with safety measures.

Study Design: Before-and-after-intervention study.

Sample Population: Three thousand two hundred eighty-six dogs: 1375 dogs pre-SC and 1911 post-SC.

An Analysis of Variability in "CatWalk" Locomotor Measurements to Aid Experimental Design and Interpretation.

Preclinical studies in models of neurologic injury and disease rely on behavioral outcomes to measure intervention efficacy. For spinal cord injury, the CatWalk system provides unbiased quantitative assessment of subtle aspects of locomotor function in rodents and so can powerfully detect significant differences between experimental and control groups. Although clearly of key importance, summary group-level data can obscure the variability within and between individual subjects and therefore make it difficult to understand the magnitude of effect in individual animals and the proportion of a group that may show benefit.

Electrodiagnostic findings in dogs with apparently painful lumbosacral foraminal stenosis.

Background: Development of management strategies for lumbosacral stenosis in dogs is hampered by the lack of objective diagnostic criteria and outcome measures.

Objective: To explore the suitability of electrodiagnostic tests as ancillary diagnostic aids, inclusion criteria, or outcome measures.

Sample Population: Sixty-one client-owned dogs with clinical signs of lumbosacral foraminal stenosis.

Surgical intervention for vertebral osteomyelitis in a calf.

Objective: To report the surgical treatment and outcome of a non-ambulatory calf with cervical vertebral ostoeomyelitis.

Study Design: Clinical report.

Sample Population: One 3.

A Wearable Body Controlling Device for Application of Functional Electrical Stimulation.

In this research, we describe a new balancing device used to stabilize the rear quarters of a patient dog with spinal cord injuries. Our approach uses inertial measurement sensing and direct leg actuation to lay a foundation for eventual muscle control by means of direct functional electrical stimulation (FES). During this phase of development, we designed and built a mechanical test-bed to develop the control and stimulation algorithms before we use the device on our animal subjects.

Comparison of Etomidate, Benzocaine, and MS222 Anesthesia with and without Subsequent Flunixin Meglumine Analgesia in African Clawed Frogs ().

Often few alternative anesthetics for exotic species are available, due to the small numbers of these animals used in research. In this study, we evaluated the depth and duration of anesthesia in Xenopus laevis after their immersion in 3 doses of etomidate (15, 22.5, and 30 mg/L) and in 3 doses of benzocaine (0.

An ovine model of spinal cord injury.

Objective: To develop a large animal model of spinal cord injury (SCI), for use in translational studies of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in the treatment of spasticity. We seek to establish thresholds for the SCS parameters associated with reduction of post-SCI spasticity in the pelvic limbs, with implications for patients.

Study Design: The weight-drop method was used to create a moderate SCI in adult sheep, leading to mild spasticity in the pelvic limbs.

Corticosteroid use in small animal neurology.

Glucocorticoid drugs are frequently used nonspecifically by veterinarians to control clinical signs associated with central nervous system disease. However, this use is infrequently justified and can also be associated with detrimental long-term patient outcomes. First, there are few diseases for which glucocorticoids are the preferred or definitive treatment.

Perspectives on meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin.

Meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin (MUO) is a heterogeneous group of overlapping central nervous system inflammatory diseases of unknown cause. This article highlights the current understanding of MUO and its phenotypic variants encountered in clinical practice. Diagnostic evaluation of presumptive MUO includes lesion distribution on magnetic resonance imaging and ruling out other acquired diseases.

Intracranial somatosensory responses with direct spinal cord stimulation in anesthetized sheep.

The efficacy of spinal cord stimulators is dependent on the ability of the device to functionally activate targeted structures within the spinal cord, while avoiding activation of near-by non-targeted structures. In theory, these objectives can best be achieved by delivering electrical stimuli directly to the surface of the spinal cord. The current experiments were performed to study the influence of different stimulating electrode positions on patterns of spinal cord electrophysiological activation.

Ovine tests of a novel spinal cord neuromodulator and dentate ligament fixation method.

Background: To improve methods for the treatment of intractable pain, we are developing a novel intradural spinal cord stimulator that could be either attached to the dentate ligaments of the human spinal cord or fitted around the dorsal arc of the cord itself.

Purpose: Our goal was to carry out the first in vivo tests of these attachment methods in an ovine model using custom-built devices and instrumentation. For eventual translational studies, we also explored methods of mimicking a human dentate ligament attachment technique in this large animal model.

A new device concept for directly modulating spinal cord pathways: initial in vivo experimental results.

We describe a novel spinal cord (SC) stimulator that is designed to overcome a major shortcoming of existing stimulator devices: their restricted capacity to selectively activate targeted axons within the dorsal columns. This device overcomes that limitation by delivering electrical stimuli directly to the pial surface of the SC. Our goal in testing this device was to measure its ability to physiologically activate the SC and examine its capacity to modulate somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) triggered by peripheral stimulation.

Assessment of humeral length in dogs after repair of Salter-Harris type IV fracture of the lateral part of the humeral condyle.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of fracture and subsequent repair on future bone growth of the humerus after Salter-Harris type IV fracture of the lateral part of the humeral condyle (LPHC).

Study Design: Prospective study.

Animals: Dogs (n=11).