Investigating gut permeability in neonatal calves with diarrhea: A case-control study.

The objective of this case-control study was to assess gut permeability, measured through Cr-EDTA recovery, in healthy and diarrheic neonatal calves. The study was conducted at a commercial calf-rearing facility, where fecal consistency was monitored twice daily. Calves were categorized as diarrheic if they had runny or watery feces, whereas those with normal fecal consistency, neutrophil count, and physical exam findings were considered healthy controls.

Comparison of Immunomagnetic Bead Separation-Immunosensor Detection and Nested-PCR Methods for Detecting Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis in Cattle Feces.

Background: Johne's disease, also known as paratuberculosis, is a chronic granulomatous enteritis disease that affects ruminants worldwide.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the immunomagnetic bead separation-immunosensor (IMB-IS) detection method compared to Nested-PCR for identifying Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection in cattle feces samples.

Methods: Ninety rectal fecal samples were collected from selected cattle, comprising 59 serum-positive and 31 serum-negative cases based on serum ELISA.

The Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and Predictors of Infection and Mortality in 1068 Critically Ill Newborn Foals.

Background: Sepsis has been defined in humans as the concurrent proven or suspected presence of microbial infection and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Sepsis is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal foals. The clinical utility of using SIRS or its individual components to predict infection and mortality in critically ill foals is currently unknown.

Retrospective evaluation of acid-base imbalances, clinicopathologic alterations, and prognostic factors in hospitalized calves with Eimeria-associated diarrhea.

Introduction: After the neonatal period Eimeriosis is one of the most common causes of large intestinal diarrhea in calves. In contrast to neonatal calves with diarrhea, there are very few reports about the clinicopathological alterations in affected animals, which are mainly based on experimental data. The aim of the present study was therefore to characterize acid-base and related clinicopathologic alterations in calves with Eimeria-associated diarrhea and to identify variables associated with in-hospital mortality.

Predictors of blood ionized calcium concentration in sick adult cattle.

Background: Data on the factors affecting blood ionized calcium concentration (ciCa ) and diagnostic performance of serum total calcium concentration (ctCa) measurements to detect abnormal blood iCa status are lacking in sick adult cattle.

Objective: Assess the association of ciCa with venous blood pH, plasma concentrations of chloride (cCl), sodium (cNa), and potassium (cK), and ctCa, and total protein, albumin, and globulin concentrations in sick adult cattle.

Animals: Two-hundred and sixty-five adult cattle (≥1-year-old) with different diseases.

Acid-base imbalances and the association of blood-gas variables, electrolytes, and biochemical analytes with outcome in hospitalized calves undergoing abdominal surgery.

Background: Surgical abdominal emergencies in calves are associated with a guarded prognosis and have the potential for complex metabolic derangements including acid-base imbalances.

Objectives: To perform a comprehensive analysis of acid-base status and to assess the prognostic relevance of preoperative clinicopathologic variables in calves undergoing abdominal surgery.

Animals: Hospital-based study samples of 535 (dataset 1; DS1) and 83 calves (dataset 2; DS2).

Evaluation of a point-of-care benchtop analyzer for quantitative measurement of C-reactive protein in canine serum and plasma.

Background: Canine C-reactive protein (cCRP) is an acute-phase protein that increases dramatically with inflammation and has potential utility in monitoring disease progression and response to treatment. Rapid, automated point-of-care test (POCT) formats could enhance the clinical utility of cCRP measurement.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the VetChroma canine-specific POCT assay for the quantitative measurement of cCRP in canine serum or plasma.

Comparison of selected serum biochemistry measurements between the Nova Prime Plus VET, Nova pHOx Ultra, and Beckman Coulter AU680 analyzers in dogs.

Background: Blood gas chemistry analyzers typically produce results faster and use smaller sample volumes than reference chemistry analyzers. However, results may not be comparable between blood gas chemistry analyzers and reference chemistry analyzers or between different models of blood gas chemistry analyzers. This could suggest the use of separate reference intervals and, thus, has implications when making clinical decisions.

Effect of antepartum vitamin D (cholecalciferol) and postpartum oral calcium administration on serum total calcium concentration in Holstein cows fed an acidogenic diet in late gestation.

Several strategies are available to control periparturient hypocalcaemia in dairy cows. Three complementary strategies were applied in this study: feeding a low DCAD (acidogenic) ration during late gestation, oral vitamin D (cholecalciferol) administration in late gestation, and oral Ca administration immediately after parturition. Multiparous Holstein cows (n = 240) were fed an acidogenic ration in late gestation and randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups.

Intravenous and Oral Fluid Therapy in Neonatal Calves With Diarrhea or Sepsis and in Adult Cattle.

Optimal fluid therapy protocols in neonatal calves and adult cattle are based on consideration of signalment, history, and physical examination findings, and individually tailored whenever laboratory analysis is available. Measurement of the magnitude of eye recession, duration of skin tenting in the lateral neck region, and urine specific gravity by refractometry provide the best estimates of hydration status in calves and cattle. Intravenous and oral electrolyte solutions (OES) are frequently administered to critically ill calves and adult cattle.

Dependence of the apparent bicarbonate space on initial plasma bicarbonate concentration and carbon dioxide tension in neonatal calves with diarrhea, acidemia, and metabolic acidosis.

Background: Marked strong ion (metabolic) acidosis in neonatal diarrheic calves usually is corrected by IV administration of NaHCO . The distribution space for IV-administered bicarbonate, called the apparent bicarbonate space (ABS), appears to depend on initial plasma bicarbonate concentration (cHCO ) and varies considerably in calves.

Objective: To determine whether ABS was associated with initial plasma cHCO and other acid-base variables.

The effect of age and sex on selected hematologic and serum biochemical analytes in 4,804 elite endurance-trained sled dogs participating in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race pre-race examination program.

Endurance-trained sled dogs provide a unique translational model to characterize changes in hematologic and serum biochemical analytes due to the aging process. The primary objective of this study was to determine the effect of age and sex on specific hematologic and serum biochemical parameters in the endurance trained sled dog. Longitudinal and cross-sectional data were analyzed from 9,746 blood and serum samples from 4,804 dogs collected over 7 years as part of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race pre-race examination program.

Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular systolic function in neonatal calves with naturally occurring sepsis or septic shock due to diarrhea.

Sepsis is associated with clinically relevant cardiovascular changes. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the clinical value of echocardiography for monitoring left ventricular (LV) systolic function in septic calves. A prospective longitudinal study was performed using a convenience sample.

Evaluation of hand-held sodium, potassium, calcium, and electrical conductivity meters for diagnosing subclinical mastitis and intramammary infection in dairy cattle.

Background: Subclinical mastitis (SCM) and intramammary infection (IMI) increase the sodium (Na) concentration and electrical conductivity (EC) and decrease the potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) concentrations in glandular secretions of lactating dairy cattle.

Hypothesis: Low-cost portable Na, K, Ca, and EC meters are clinically useful cow-side tests for diagnosing SCM and IMI.

Animals: One hundred fifteen dairy cows at dry off and 92 cows within 4-7 days postcalving.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of intramammary cefquinome in lactating goats with and without experimentally induced Staphylococcus aureus mastitis.

Values for pharmacokinetic variables are usually obtained in healthy animals, whereas drugs are frequently administered to diseased animals. This study investigated cefquinome pharmacokinetics in healthy goats and goats with experimentally induced mastitis. Five adult lactating goats received 75 mg of cefquinome intramammary infusion using a commercially available product into one udder half in healthy goats and goats with clinical mastitis that was induced by intracisternal infusion of 100 cfu of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 suspended in 5 ml of sterile culture broth.

Clinical utility of urine specific gravity, electrical conductivity, and color as on-farm methods for evaluating urine concentration in dairy cattle.

Background: Urine concentration (UC) provides clinically useful information concerning hydration status and renal function of animals.

Objectives: To characterize the clinical performance of urine specific gravity measured by optical refractometry (U ) or Multistix-SG urine reagent dipstick (U ), urine electrical conductivity using an OAKTON Con 6 conductivity handheld meter (U ), urine color (U ) using a custom-designed 8-point color chart, and urine creatinine concentration (U ) for assessing UC in dairy cattle.

Animals: 20 periparturient Holstein-Friesian cows.

Electrocardiographic findings in 130 hospitalized neonatal calves with diarrhea and associated potassium balance disorders.

Background: Hyperkalemia in neonatal diarrheic calves can potentially result in serious cardiac conduction abnormalities and arrhythmias.

Objectives: To document electrocardiographic (ECG) findings and the sequence of ECG changes that are associated with increasing plasma potassium concentrations (cK ) in a large population of neonatal diarrheic calves.

Animals: One hundred and thirty neonatal diarrheic calves (age ≤21 days).

Evaluation of 5 methods for diagnosing failure of passive transfer in 160 Holstein calves.

Background: Inadequate absorption of colostral IgG is termed failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI). Dairy calves with FTPI have increased mortality and morbidity in their first 6 months of life.

Objectives: This study compared the clinical performance of 5 methods for diagnosing FTPI in Holstein calves.

Clinical signs and outcomes of beef cattle undergoing cesarean section because of dystocia.

OBJECTIVE To characterize signalment, clinical signs, reproductive history, surgical management, and outcomes of beef cattle undergoing cesarean section because of dystocia at a veterinary teaching hospital. DESIGN Retrospective case series with nested cohort study. ANIMALS 173 beef cattle admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital from 2001 through 2010 that underwent cesarean section because of dystocia.

Plasma calcium concentrations are decreased at least 9 hours before parturition in multiparous Holstein-Friesian cattle in a herd fed an acidogenic diet during late gestation.

Calcium homeostatic mechanisms are challenged in periparturient multiparous dairy cattle due to the rapid transport of large amounts of calcium into the mammary gland associated with colostrogenesis, resulting in decreased plasma total calcium concentration ([Ca]). An unresolved issue is the timing of the decrease in plasma [Ca] relative to the time of parturition, with the consensus view being that plasma [Ca] does not decrease until after parturition. The objective of this study, therefore, was to characterize the change in plasma [Ca] over time in periparturient dairy cattle.

Clinical signs, profound acidemia, hypoglycemia, and hypernatremia are predictive of mortality in 1,400 critically ill neonatal calves with diarrhea.

Profound acidemia impairs cellular and organ function and consequently should be associated with an increased risk of mortality in critically ill humans and animals. Neonatal diarrhea in calves can result in potentially serious metabolic derangements including profound acidemia due to strong ion (metabolic) acidosis, hyper-D-lactatemia, hyper-L-lactatemia, azotemia, hypoglycemia, hyperkalemia and hyponatremia. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the prognostic relevance of clinical and laboratory findings in 1,400 critically ill neonatal calves with diarrhea admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital.

Evaluation of learning curves for ovariohysterectomy of dogs and cats and castration of dogs.

OBJECTIVE To define learning curves for fourth-year veterinary students performing ovariohysterectomy procedures in dogs and cats and castration in dogs. DESIGN Retrospective study. SAMPLE 3,196 ovariohysterectomies or castrations performed in dogs and cats by 88 veterinary students during a spay-neuter surgery and animal shelter rotation (n = 3,056) or by 1 experienced general practitioner (n = 140).

Characterization of the analytic performance of an electrochemical point-of-care meter for measuring β-hydroxybutyrate concentration in blood and plasma from periparturient dairy cattle.

Background: The Precision Xtra electrochemical meter is widely used to measure blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentration (BHBb) in dairy cattle. The meter uses an algorithm optimized for human blood that assumes the HCT in cattle is the same as in people, and that intra-erythrocyte β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBe) and plasma β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBp) concentration are equivalent.

Objectives: The first objective was to characterize the analytic performance of the meter for measuring BHBb and BHBp in dairy cattle.