Comparison of insulin infusion protocols for management of canine and feline diabetic ketoacidosis.

Objective: Describe the use of fixed-rate intravenous insulin infusions (FRIs) in cats and dogs with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and determine if this is associated with faster resolution of ketosis compared to variable-rate intravenous insulin infusions (VRIs). Secondary objectives were to evaluate complication rates, length of hospitalization (LOH), and survival to discharge (STD).

Design: Randomized clinical trial (January 2019 to July 2020).

Outcome prediction in dogs admitted through the emergency room: Accuracy of staff prediction and comparison with an illness severity stratification system for hospitalized dogs.

Objective: To determine whether emergency staff and students can predict patient outcome within 24 hours of admission, comparing the accuracy of clinician prognostication with outcome prediction by Acute Patient Physiologic and Laboratory Evaluation (APPLE) scoring and identifying whether experience or mood would be associated with accuracy.

Design: Prospective observational study between April 2020 and March 2021.

Setting: University teaching hospital.

Cooling Methods Used to Manage Heat-Related Illness in Dogs Presented to Primary Care Veterinary Practices during 2016-2018 in the UK.

The management of heat-related illness (HRI) in dogs has received limited attention in the veterinary literature, especially regarding effective cooling methods. Guidelines published in 2016 for prehospital management of dogs with HRI advised "cool first, transport second", and recommended using cold-water immersion and evaporative cooling (water application with air movement) as the optimal approaches to reduce the patient's temperature. The current retrospective cross-sectional observation study analysed electronic patient records from the VetCompass programme to describe the cooling methods used in dogs with HRI presented to primary care veterinary practices during 2016-2018.

Assessing primary care veterinarians' use of and confidence in performing point-of-care ultrasound.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is gaining popularity in the veterinary field, but there is little information on operator confidence.

Methods: A survey was distributed to primary care veterinarians (PCVs) via social media between May and July 2020. Details of participants' training in and use of POCUS were recorded.

Evaluation of Therapeutic Use of Antifibrinolytics in Cats.

Limited data are available regarding the use of the antifibrinolytic drugs tranexamic acid (TXA) and epsilon aminocaproic acid (EACA) in cats. This study aimed to evaluate the indications for the use of TXA and EACA in cats and to describe dosing regimens used, occurrence of adverse events, and patient outcomes. This was a retrospective multicenter study.

Risk Factors for Severe and Fatal Heat-Related Illness in UK Dogs-A VetCompass Study.

Heat-related illness (HRI) is predicted to increase in dogs due to rising global temperatures. This study evaluated retrospective VetCompass veterinary clinical records to explore geographical variability and ambient conditions associated with HRI events in UK dogs, and report the intrinsic (canine) and extrinsic (location, trigger, ambient weather) risk factors for severe disease and fatal outcome in dogs affected by HRI. Dogs living in London had the greatest odds for developing HRI compared with dogs living in the North West (OR 1.

Cardiac auscultation skills in final year veterinary students and recent veterinary graduates, referral hospital veterinary surgeons and veterinary cardiologists or cardiology residents.

Background: Cardiac auscultation is an important part of the physical examination. This study evaluated cardiac auscultation skills in veterinary students and compared their abilities to recent veterinary graduates, referral hospital veterinary surgeons and veterinary cardiologists or cardiology residents. In addition it compared their self-predicted quiz scores to their actual scores, evaluating if they could accurately predict their own performance level.

Proposing the VetCompass clinical grading tool for heat-related illness in dogs.

Heat-related illness is a potentially fatal condition in dogs. Rapid and accurate recognition of the severity can improve clinical management in affected dogs and lead to better outcomes. This study explored retrospective VetCompass veterinary clinical records to investigate the clinical signs recorded for dogs presenting with heat-related illness to primary-care veterinary practice from 2016 to 2018.

Quality of life following mechanical ventilation in dogs and cats.

Background: Mechanical ventilation is frequently performed in small animal critical care medicine with well-documented survival data; quality of life in these patients following discharge from hospital is unknown.

Key Findings: Owners of patients surviving to discharge following mechanical ventilation were surveyed with an open ended and ranking score questionnaire. Response rate was 57% (27/47).

Retrospective evaluation of recurrent secondary septic peritonitis in dogs (2000-2011): 41 cases.

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of recurrent septic peritonitis in dogs.

Design: Multicenter retrospective observational study.

Animals: Client-owned dogs with recurrent septic peritonitis.

Feline non-regenerative immune-mediated anaemia: features and outcome in 15 cases.

Objectives: Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) and non-regenerative immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (NRIMHA) are uncommon causes of non-regenerative anaemia affecting the bone marrow in the cat. This retrospective study aimed to describe the clinical features, treatment and outcome (remission and survival) of cats with these disorders.

Methods: Cases of PRCA and NRIMHA presenting between 2009 and 2013 were retrieved.

Multiple acquired portosystemic shunts in a cat secondary to chronic diaphragmatic rupture.

Case Summary: A cat with a chronic diaphragmatic rupture presented with neurological signs, including twitching and focal seizures. Blood ammonia level was markedly elevated and therefore neurological signs were thought to be related to hepatic encephalopathy. Exploratory laparotomy revealed that the left lateral and medial liver lobes were herniated into the thorax and multiple acquired portosystemic shunts (MAPSS) were present.

Feline blood transfusions: A pinker shade of pale.

Practical Relevance: blood transfusions are a potentially life-saving procedure that are within the reach of most small animal practitioners. Only minimal equipment is required.

Patient Group: any cat with clinical signs attributable to a reduced red blood cell mass that is affecting oxygen transport (as a result of reduced packed cell volume or acute blood loss) is a potential candidate for a transfusion.

Use of calcium folinate in the management of accidental methotrexate ingestion in two dogs.

Case Description: 2 English Pointers were suspected of having consumed toxic doses of methotrexate, a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor frequently used in human and veterinary chemotherapeutic protocols.

Clinical Findings: Potentially toxic plasma concentrations of methotrexate were detected in both dogs. Results of physical examination, a CBC, blood gas analysis, and serum biochemical analysis were predominantly unremarkable, although 1 dog had mild hyponatremia (1372 mmol/L; reference range, 140 to 153 mmol/L) and mild hypocalcemia (1.

Synovial osteochondroma involving the elbow of a cat.

Clinical Presentation: A 12-year-old spayed domestic crossbred cat presented because she would not walk down stairs. A firm swelling on the medial aspect of the elbow was detected during physical examination. The lesion was not hot or painful on palpation and the lameness was mild, but the elbow had a reduced range of motion compared with the contralateral limb.