Publications by authors named "Amara Estrada"

The COVID-19 pandemic provided insight into the gaps provided by health care systems that could benefit from collaborative practice across the nexus of the animal and human health professions. The platform of Interprofessional Education (IPE), recognized as a pedagogical platform for delivering the principles of One Health, embodies the benefits of collaboration to address critical emerging public health issues, including the emergence of vector-borne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, food security and defense and the impacts of climatic change. A phenomenological methodology, which is used to understand individuals lived experience, elicited veterinary students' perceptions of the benefits of interprofessional learning.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Interprofessional Education (IPE) and One Health are two common and overlapping frameworks for teaching collaborative practice. IPE is common at human medical institutions, while One Health is more common in graduate and veterinary programs. The connection between IPE and One Health is still being explored both in scholarship and in real-world professional settings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Meerkats () housed at two accredited zoological institutions in the United States were evaluated via echocardiography, thoracic radiography, and blood biomarkers-taurine and feline N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide-to determine the prevalence and severity of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in both populations. In total, 24 meerkats were evaluated and 7 were diagnosed with DCM based on the following parameters: left ventricular internal diameter at end diastole > 1.30 cm, left ventricular internal diameter at end systole > 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: There is a lack of clinical data on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in dogs.

Hypothesis/objectives: To investigate signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic findings, and survival in dogs with HCM.

Animals: Sixty-eight client-owned dogs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: To identify and classify methods for assessing professionalism across health profession degree programs and identify gaps in the literature regarding types of assessments.

Methods: The authors conducted a scoping review of articles published from database inception through 24 January 2020. Included articles described an assessment approach for professionalism in health profession degree programs available in full-text in the English language.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Educational training in professional programs forms the foundation for how a person problem-solves throughout their career. However, training focused on only one profession ignores the value realized through collaborations among multiple professions for solving health-related problems. This is at the core of inter-professional education (IPE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The EPIC study monitored dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) to observe how they develop congestive heart failure (CHF).
  • It compared clinical and radiographic changes in dogs that developed CHF against those that did not, analyzing factors like heart rate and respiratory rate.
  • Key findings showed that dogs approaching CHF had significant increases in respiratory rates and heart rates, along with decreases in body weight and temperature, highlighting respiratory rates as crucial indicators of CHF onset.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A splice site mutation in the canine pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) gene has been shown to be associated with the development of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Doberman Pinchers (DPs). Subsequent studies have successfully demonstrated the use of dermal fibroblasts isolated from DPs as models for PDK4 deficiency and have shown activation of the intrinsic (mitochondrial mediated) apoptosis pathway in these cells under starvation conditions. For this study, we sought to further explore the functional consequences of PDK4 deficiency in DP fibroblasts representing PDK4, PDK4, and PDK4 genotypes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • A study analyzed noncardiovascular and overall mortality rates in healthy cats and those with preclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (pHCM), involving 1,730 cats across 21 countries.
  • The research found that while noncardiovascular death rates were similar between healthy cats and those with pHCM, overall mortality was significantly higher in pHCM cats due to increased cardiovascular issues.
  • Key causes of noncardiovascular death were cancer and chronic kidney disease, with age being a critical factor in mortality for both groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heart disorder in cats, causing significant health issues, but the effects of preclinical stages are not well understood.
  • - A study followed 1,730 cats, comparing those with nonobstructive HCM, obstructive HOCM, and healthy cats, revealing a high incidence of congestive heart failure (CHF) and cardiovascular death over time.
  • - Results showed that preclinical HCM/HOCM significantly increases the risks of CHF, arterial thromboembolism, and cardiovascular death, highlighting the need for better monitoring and treatment options for affected cats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Doberman pinscher (DP) canine breed displays a high incidence of idiopathic, nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with increased mortality. A common mutation in DPs is a splice site deletion in the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) gene that shows a positive correlation with DCM development. PDK4, a vital mitochondrial protein, controls the switch between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation based upon nutrient availability.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Many aging changes in cats are normal and do not negatively impact their wellness, making it crucial to differentiate between healthy aging and disease for proper care decisions.
  • Determining if a cat's changes are age-appropriate can be challenging, particularly concerning health metrics and behavioral/cognitive assessments.
  • The goal of the review articles is to define 'healthy aging' in cats and propose criteria for accurately identifying healthy aged cats, despite limited research in this area.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Practical Relevance: Aged pets comprise a significant proportion of the small animal veterinarian's patient population; in the USA, for example, it was estimated that over 20% of pet cats were 11 years of age or older in 2011. Certain changes associated with aging are neither positive nor negative, but others are less desirable, associated with illness, changes in mobility or the development of unwanted behaviors. These changes can greatly affect the health and wellbeing of the cat and have a tremendous impact on the owner.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Inter-professional education (IPE) is identified as an important component of health profession training and is listed in the accreditation requirements for many fields, including veterinary medicine. The goals of IPE are to develop inter-professional skills and to improve patient-oriented care and community health outcomes. To meet these goals, IPE relies on enhanced teamwork, a high level of communication, mutual planning, collective decision making, and shared responsibilities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To compare mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of fibroblasts from Doberman Pinschers with and without dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and mutation of the gene for pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isozyme 4 (PDK4) and to evaluate in vitro whether treatment with adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector (i.e., gene therapy) would alter metabolic efficiency.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives The biologic variability of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and its impact on diagnostic utility is unknown in healthy cats and those with cardiac disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the biologic variation of NT-proBNP within-day and week-to-week in healthy adult cats. Methods Adult cats were prospectively evaluated by complete blood count (CBC), biochemistry, total thyroxine, echocardiography, electrocardiography and blood pressure, to exclude underlying systemic or cardiac disease.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A standardized echocardiographic technique was recently established for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). There are no available published data on normal echocardiographic parameters in any Sirenian species. The purpose of this study was to report reference parameters for various echocardiographic measurements.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To determine the feasibility of atrial septal pacing via a delivery catheter-guided small non-retracting helix pacing lead.

Animals: Six healthy beagles (8.3-12.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antemortem studies pertaining to the manatee cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary systems are limited despite reports of cardiac disease in postmortem specimens. The objective of this project was to develop a technique for echocardiography in the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Because of their unique anatomy, a ventral approach was employed by use of an echocardiography table designed specifically for this study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To compare procedure times and major and minor complication rates associated with single-chamber versus dual-chamber pacemaker implantation and with 1-lead, 2-lead, and 3-lead pacemaker implantation in dogs with clinical signs of bradyarrhythmia.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 54 dogs that underwent pacemaker implantation because of clinical signs of bradyarrhythmia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS) is one of the most common congenital cardiac malformations in dogs. Unfortunately, the long term success rate and survival data following either open heart surgery or catheter based intervention has been disappointing in dogs with severe subaortic stenosis. Medical therapy is currently the only standard recommended treatment option.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To determine if metatarsal artery pressure (COmet) is comparable to femoral artery pressure (COfem) as the input for transpulmonary pulse contour analysis (PiCCO) in anesthetized dogs, using the lithium dilution method (LiDCO) as a standard for cardiac output (CO) measurement.

Design: Prospective randomized study.

Setting: University research laboratory.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Closure of reversed patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is generally accepted to be contraindicated due to case based evidence of worsened outcomes, but little is known about closure of left-to-right PDA with concurrent pulmonary hypertension (PH). This report describes three dogs presenting with varying severity of PH and clinical signs, all with documented left-to-right PDA. The PDA was closed in each case; either by surgical ligation or transarterial device occlusion, and follow up was available for a minimum of 8 months.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF