Incidence of residual biologic debris and contamination of reused bipolar vessel sealing devices after ethylene oxide sterilization following splenectomy.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to quantify the amount of biologic debris present within disposable bipolar vessel sealing devices after each use for canine splenectomies and determine the aerobic bacterial load of the debris following instrument resterilization with ethylene oxide.

Study Design: Prospective observational clinical study.

Study Population: Client-owned dogs (n = 40) presenting to a single specialty hospital for open, routine, or emergency splenectomies.

Effect of continuous positive airway pressure helmet on respiratory function following surgical procedures in brachycephalic dogs: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on respiratory function in the early postoperative period of brachycephalic dogs.

Study Design: Prospective, randomized clinical trial.

Animals: A total of 32 dogs.

Effect of surgical simulator training on student and live animal outcomes in a feline ovariohysterectomy teaching laboratory.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of training with a high-fidelity surgical simulator on outcomes of live animals and students participating in a feline ovariohysterectomy teaching laboratory.

Study Design: Nonrandomized controlled trial.

Sample Population: Cats (n = 186) and students (n = 146).

Development of a minimally invasive endoscopic technique for excisional biopsy of the axillary lymph nodes in dogs.

Objective: To develop and describe a minimally invasive technique for excisional biopsy of the axillary lymph nodes in dogs.

Study Design: Descriptive cadaver and clinical case series.

Animals: Four canine cadavers and three clinical patients.

Real-time analysis of intraoperative delays and variations in intraoperative workflow with level of experience of the primary surgeon in small animal surgery.

Objective: To describe the causes of intraoperative delays and the changes in delays and surgical workflow with the level of training of the primary surgeon.

Study Design: Prospective observational study.

Sample Population: Seventy-three small animal surgical procedures performed at an academic teaching institution between January 17, 2018 and April 10, 2018.

Development of a veterinary trauma score (VetCOT) in canine trauma patients with performance evaluation and comparison to the animal trauma triage score: A VetCOT registry study.

Objective: To develop a population-derived, parsimonious, and objective risk stratification model for dogs following trauma and compare its predictive performance to the animal trauma triage (ATT) score.

Design: Observational cohort study using data from the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Veterinary Committee on Trauma (VetCOT) trauma registry acquired between September 2013 and October 2017.

Setting: Nine Level I and Level II veterinary trauma centers.

The Canine Postamputation Pain (CAMPPAIN) initiative: a retrospective study and development of a diagnostic scale.

Objective: To develop a scale to diagnose and assess the severity of postamputation pain (PAP) in dogs.

Study Design: Single-center retrospective study.

Animals: A total of 66 dogs that underwent thoracic or pelvic limb amputation and 139 dogs that underwent tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) at a veterinary teaching hospital.

Association between biliary tree manipulation and outcome in dogs undergoing cholecystectomy for gallbladder mucocele: A multi-institutional retrospective study.

Objective: To determine whether catheterization of the common bile duct (CBD) is associated with outcome in dogs undergoing cholecystectomy for gallbladder mucocele and to determine whether this association is modified by the catheterization method.

Study Design: Multi-institutional retrospective cohort study.

Animals: Dogs (n = 252) that underwent cholecystectomy for gallbladder mucocele.

Influence of locoregional lymph node aspiration cytology vs sentinel lymph node mapping and biopsy on disease stage assignment in dogs with integumentary mast cell tumors.

Objective: To compare the effect of sentinel lymph node (SLN) histology vs locoregional lymph node (LRLN) fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology on assigned disease stage and adjunctive treatment recommendations and describe the incidence of anatomic disparity between the LRLN and SLN.

Study Design: A pre-post study refers to a study design type in which subjects are compared pre and post the intervention of interest.

Animals: Seventeen dogs undergoing primary excision of 20 cutaneous and subcutaneous mast cell tumors (MCT).

A multicenter observational study investigating care errors, staffing levels, and workload in small animal intensive care units.

Objective: To investigate associations among care errors, staffing, and workload in small animal ICUs.

Design: Multicenter observational cohort study conducted between January 2017 and September 2018.

Setting: Three small animal teaching hospital ICUs.

Comparison of lateral surgical margins of up to two centimeters with margins of three centimeters for achieving tumor-free histologic margins following excision of grade I or II cutaneous mast cell tumors in dogs.

Objective: To determine whether conservative lateral surgical margins (equal to tumor diameter for tumors < 2 cm in diameter or 2 cm for larger tumors) were noninferior to wide (3-cm) lateral surgical margins for achieving tumor-free histologic margins following excision of grade I and II cutaneous mast cell tumors (MCTs) in dogs.

Animals: 83 grade I and II MCTs excised with a deep surgical fascial margin and requisite lateral surgical margins from 68 dogs from 2007 to 2017. Tumors representing scar revision or local recurrence were excluded.

Higher body mass index may increase the risk for the development of incisional complications in horses following emergency ventral midline celiotomy.

Background: Obesity is common in the equine population and it has been associated with increased surgical morbidity and mortality in humans. The effect of increased body mass index (BMI) on the incidence of surgical site infections has not been investigated in horses.

Objectives: To determine whether horses with increased body fat, as estimated by BMI, are more likely to develop post-operative complications, particularly incisional complications, following emergency ventral midline celiotomy.

Single-Stage Craniectomy and Cranioplasty for Multilobular Osteochondrosarcoma Managed with a Custom Additive Manufactured Titanium Plate in a Dog.

A 9-year-old spayed female dachshund presented with a large multilobular osteochondrosarcoma of the crania, with obliteration of approximately 70% of the surface area of the dorsal calvaria and intracranial extension. The mass was excised with histologically clean lateral bone margins (2-4 mm) and invasion at the deep margin. The resulting defect was reconstructed with a custom titanium plate.

Investigation of burnout syndrome and job-related risk factors in veterinary technicians in specialty teaching hospitals: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To investigate veterinary technician burnout and associations with frequency of self-reported medical error, resilience, and depression and job-related risk factors.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study using an anonymous survey conducted between November 2017 and June 2018.

Setting: Four referral teaching hospitals in the United States and Canada.

Effect of subcutaneous closure technique on incisional complications and postoperative pain in cats undergoing midline celiotomy: A randomized, blinded, controlled trial.

Objective: To compare the effect of three methods of subcutaneous tissue closure on postoperative incisional complications and pain in cats.

Study Design: Single-center, randomized, blinded, controlled trial conducted in a veterinary teaching hospital.

Animals: Two hundred ninety-seven cats undergoing midline celiotomy for ovariohysterectomy (n = 280) or other abdominal procedure (n = 17).

Decreased incidence of perioperative inadvertent hypothermia and faster anesthesia recovery with increased environmental temperature: A nonrandomized controlled study.

Objective: To determine perioperative inadvertent hypothermia (PIH) incidence, risk factors, prevention methods, and effect of PIH prevention on anesthesia recovery times.

Study Design: Nonrandomized controlled before-and-after trial.

Animals: Dogs (n = 277) and cats (n = 20) undergoing open surgery.

Performance evaluation and validation of the Animal Trauma Triage score and modified Glasgow Coma Scale in injured cats: A Veterinary Committee on Trauma registry study.

Objectives: To examine the Animal Trauma Triage (ATT) and modified Glasgow Coma Scale (mGCS) scores as predictors of mortality in injured cats.

Design: Observational cohort study conducted September 2013 to March 2015.

Setting: Nine Level I and II veterinary trauma centers.

Development and validation of a brachycephalic risk (BRisk) score to predict the risk of complications in dogs presenting for surgical treatment of brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.

Objective: To develop and validate a preoperative brachycephalic risk (BRisk) score that objectively and accurately predicts the risk of major complications or death in dogs undergoing corrective surgery for brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS).

Study Design: Retrospective multicenter cohort study.

Sample Population: Score development n = 233 dogs, validation n = 50 dogs.

Analysis of outcomes following treatment of craniodorsal hip luxation with closed reduction and Ehmer sling application in dogs.

To describe outcomes for dogs after treatment of craniodorsal hip luxation with closed reduction and Ehmer sling placement and investigate potential risk factors for sling-associated tissue injury or reluxation of the affected hip at or near the time of sling removal. Retrospective multicenter cohort study. 92 dogs.

Development and validation of a hemangiosarcoma likelihood prediction model in dogs presenting with spontaneous hemoabdomen: The HeLP score.

Objective: To calculate a risk prediction model for hemangiosarcoma (HSA) diagnosis in dogs presenting with nontraumatic hemoabdomen.

Design: Retrospective multicenter observational cohort study enrolling dogs presented 2003-2016.

Setting: Five academic veterinary medical centers.

Sex-hormone producing adrenal tumors causing behavioral changes as the sole clinical sign in 3 cats.

Three neutered cats with adrenocortical tumors that were presented with behavioral changes but no evidence of hyperaldosteronism or hypercortisolism are described. All 3 cats had resolution of their clinical signs following adrenalectomy. For neutered cats presenting with behavior changes, a sex-hormone secreting adrenal tumor should be considered as a differential diagnosis.

Retrospective study of factors associated with surgical site infection in dogs following tibial plateau leveling osteotomy.

OBJECTIVE To identify risk factors associated with surgical site infection (SSI) in dogs following tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO). DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. ANIMALS 320 dogs that underwent unilateral or bilateral TPLO (n = 405 procedures) between 2007 and 2015 and were reexamined by a veterinarian at least once ≥ 8 weeks after the procedure.

Performance evaluation and validation of the animal trauma triage score and modified Glasgow Coma Scale with suggested category adjustment in dogs: A VetCOT registry study.

Objective: To examine the animal trauma triage (ATT) and modified Glasgow Coma Scale (mGCS) scores as predictors of mortality outcome (death or euthanasia) in injured dogs.

Design: Observational cohort study conducted from September 2013 to March 2015 with follow-up until death or hospital discharge.

Setting: Nine veterinary hospitals including private referral and veterinary teaching hospitals.

Long-term effects of tibial plateau leveling osteotomy and tibial tuberosity advancement on tibial plateau subchondral bone density in dogs.

Objective: To evaluate long-term loading patterns using subchondral bone density (SBD) distribution of the tibial plateau after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) and tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA).

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Animals: Adult (> 2 years), medium to large breed dogs (>20 kg) that had been treated with TPLO or TTA at least 1 year prior to the study were recruited.

Laryngeal mask airway and transient hypercapnic hyperpnea for video-endoscopic assessment of unilateral laryngeal paralysis in dogs.

Objective: To evaluate the ability to assess laryngeal function and to diagnose unilateral laryngeal paralysis (uLP) via airway endoscopy and carbon dioxide (CO ) stimulation.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Animals: Six healthy, adult beagles.