Impact of Team Communication Training on Performance and Self-Assessment of Team Functioning during Sophomore Surgery.

Collaboration and teamwork are important skills for veterinary professionals that affect relationship development, health and well-being, financial success, and clinical outcomes. This study explores the impact of team communication training on performance and assessment of team functioning during second-year surgery by comparing two different classes. The class of 2017 (control group) received no formal training in team communication before their participation in surgery, and the class of 2018 (treatment group) participated in training offered through a dedicated team communication course.

Evaluation of intermittent infusion of bupivacaine into surgical wounds of dogs postoperatively.

Thirty-one dogs were randomised to receive intermittent wound infusion of bupivacaine or saline after surgery. Wound pressure sensitivity, pain scores, body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, analgesic drugs administered, time to walking and time to eating after surgery were recorded. Plasma bupivacaine concentrations were measured.

Item generation and design testing of a questionnaire to assess degenerative joint disease-associated pain in cats.

Objective: To determine the items (question topics) for a subjective instrument to assess degenerative joint disease (DJD)-associated chronic pain in cats and determine the instrument design most appropriate for use by cat owners.

Animals: 100 randomly selected client-owned cats from 6 months to 20 years old.

Procedures: Cats were evaluated to determine degree of radiographic DJD and signs of pain throughout the skeletal system.

Outcome of permanent tracheostomy for treatment of upper airway obstruction in cats: 21 cases (1990-2007).

Objective: To determine clinical outcome of permanent tracheostomy in cats with upper airway obstruction.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 21 cats.

Aural cholesteatoma in twenty dogs.

Objective: To determine the clinical course in dogs with aural cholesteatoma.

Study Design: Case series.

Animals: Dogs (n=20) with aural cholesteatoma.

Current methods in use for assessing clinical competencies: what works?

An online survey was used to capture qualitative descriptions of methods used by a veterinary college to assess clinical competencies in its students. Each college was specifically asked about use of the methods detailed in the Toolbox of Assessment Methods developed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Board of Medical Specialties. Additionally, each college was asked to detail the methods used to ensure competency in each of the nine areas specified by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.

Feline fibrosarcoma: perioperative management.

Aggressive and complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice for fibrosarcomas in cats. Thorough preoperative planning and meticulous surgical technique are necessary for optimal cosmetic, functional, and oncologic outcome. Perioperative pain management with an emphasis on preemptive analgesia and multimodal analgesia is essential to minimize patient morbidity.

Surgical and interventional radiographic treatment of dogs with hepatic arteriovenous fistulae.

Objective: To report outcome after surgical and interventional radiographic treatment of hepatic arteriovenous fistulae (HAVF) in dogs.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: Dogs (n=20) with HAVF.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in cats: a review.

Objective: To review the evidence regarding the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in cats.

Databases Used: PubMed, CAB abstracts.

Conclusions: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be used with caution in cats because of their low capacity for hepatic glucuronidation, which is the major mechanism of metabolism and excretion for this category of drugs.

Coil occlusion of residual shunts after surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE; To describe use of coil embolization to occlude residual flow through a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) after incomplete surgical ligation.

Study Design: Clinical study.

Animals: Dogs (n=4) with continuous murmur after surgical ligation of PDA.

Subtotal ear canal ablation in 18 dogs and one cat with minimal distal ear canal pathology.

A modified technique for performing total ear canal ablations is described. This technique requires less dissection than the standard technique and maintains a portion of the distal vertical ear canal. Subtotal ear canal ablations were performed in 18 dogs and one cat for the treatment of otitis externa or masses of the horizontal ear canal.

Evaluation of ameroid ring constrictors for treatment for single extrahepatic portosystemic shunts in dogs: 168 cases (1995-2001).

Objectives: To evaluate use of an ameroid ring constrictor (ARC) for treatment for single extrahepatic portosystemic shunts (PSSs) and identify factors associated with postoperative death, continued portosystemic shunting, and long-term outcome in dogs.

Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: 168 dogs with a single extrahepatic PSS.

Management and outcome of cats with ureteral calculi: 153 cases (1984-2002).

Objective: To determine outcome of medical and surgical treatment in cats with ureteral calculi.

Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: 153 cats.

Clinical, clinicopathologic, radiographic, and ultrasonographic abnormalities in cats with ureteral calculi: 163 cases (1984-2002).

Objective: To determine clinical, clinicopathologic, radiographic, and ultrasonographic abnormalities in cats with ureteral calculi.

Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: 163 client-owned cats.

Management of ureteral obstruction.

The most common cause of ureteral obstruction in dogs and cats is ureteral calculi. Common clinical signs associated with ureteral obstruction include abnormalities in urination, persistent urinary tract infection, abdominal pain, vomiting, anorexia, weight loss,and depression or lethargy. Medical management of ureteral obstruction includes fluid diuresis, muscle relaxants, and treatment of azotemia using nephrostomy tubes or hemodialysis.

Acute nontraumatic hemoabdomen in the dog: a retrospective analysis of 39 cases (1987-2001).

The medical records of 39 dogs with acute nontraumatic hemoabdomen were identified and reviewed. Anemia and hypoalbuminemia were identified in 36/37 (97%) and 25/33 (76%) dogs, respectively. Coagulopathies were identified in 26/31 (84%) dogs.

Surgical management of adrenal gland tumors with and without associated tumor thrombi in dogs: 40 cases (1994-2001).

Objective: To compare pathologic findings and results of adrenalectomy for adrenal gland tumors in dogs with and without vena caval tumor thrombi.

Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: 40 dogs with adrenal gland tumors.

Clinical evaluation of a right-sided prophylactic gastropexy via a grid approach.

A new technique is described for a prophylactic incisional gastropexy via a right-sided grid approach (i.e., minilaparotomy).

Radiographic evidence of degenerative joint disease in geriatric cats: 100 cases (1994-1997).

Objective: To determine prevalence of radiographic evidence of degenerative joint disease (DJD) in geriatric cats.

Design: Retrospective study.

Population: 100 cats > 12 years of age.

Preoperative radiotherapy for vaccine associated sarcoma in 92 cats.

Medical records for 92 cats with a vaccine associated sarcoma receiving preoperative irradiation, with or without chemotherapy, between December 1985 and September 1998 were reviewed. The purposes were to quantify response to treatment and to attempt identification of factors associated with favorable response. Variables evaluated for a relationship to outcome included signalment, tumor location, presence of gross vs.

Evaluation of ameroid ring constrictors for the management of single extrahepatic portosystemic shunts in cats: 23 cases (1996-2001).

Objective: To document the signalment; history; clinical signs; clinicopathologic, diagnostic imaging, and surgical findings; perioperative complications; and long-term clinical results of ameroid ring constrictor (ARC) placement on single extrahepatic portosystemic shunts (PSS) in cats.

Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: 23 cats treated with an ARC on a single extrahepatic PSS.

Isolation and identification of Mycobacterium kansasii from pleural fluid of a dog with persistent pleural effusion.

A 3-year-old spayed female Whippet was examined for cough and respiratory distress. Lung lobe torsion with pleural effusion was diagnosed, and lung lobectomy was performed. Pleural effusion recurred during the following 27 months; conventional bacteriologic cultures of pleural effusion did not result in bacterial growth.