Factors affecting survival of foals with pneumonia in a referral hospital.

Background: Pneumonia is a common condition in ailing neonatal foals, and it remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in this veterinary patient group. Factors affecting the survival of young foals with pneumonia have not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to explore the potential prognostic factors associated with survival of these foals.

Randomized, Blinded, Controlled Clinical Trial of Polylactide-Collagen Scaffold in Treatment of Shoulder Osteochondritis Dissecans in Dogs.

Objective:  The aim of our study was to investigate a degradable polylactide-collagen scaffold (COPLA) in the treatment of shoulder osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in dogs.

Study Design:  The study was a controlled, randomized, blinded clinical trial with a parallel group design with a 1.5-year follow-up.

Clinical and histopathological study of 279 dentigerous cysts in 192 dogs (2012-2022).

Unerupted teeth in dogs are fairly common and may develop an odontogenic cyst that causes destruction of the surrounding bone and affect adjacent teeth. We analyzed histological reports of cysts associated with unerupted teeth in a large population of dogs. Medical records and histopathological results of cysts associated with unerupted teeth were evaluated from all dogs treated at a private referral veterinary dental clinic over a 10-year period (2012-2022).

Evaluation of intervertebral disc degeneration in young adult asymptomatic Dachshunds with magnetic resonance imaging and radiography.

Background: Dachshunds have a high prevalence of intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) to which they are predisposed due to early intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration and calcification. Moreover, the recently found 12-FGF4 retrogene (RG) is associated with calcified discs visible on radiographs (CDVR) and IVDD. Earlier studies suggest that all IVDs of one-year-old Dachshunds show signs of degeneration.

Persistent fontanelles in Chihuahuas. Part I. Distribution and clinical relevance.

Background: The Chihuahua dog breed is known for frequent occurrence of a bregmatic fontanelle on the dorsal skull. A common conception is that this skull defect is a clinically irrelevant finding. No studies, however, describe its prevalence or whether it is accompanied by other persistent fontanelles (PFs).

Persistent fontanelles in Chihuahuas. Part II: Association with craniocervical junction abnormalities, syringomyelia, and ventricular volume.

Background: Persistent fontanelles (PFs) are, in Chihuahuas, almost ubiquitous. Furthermore, Chihuahuas are predisposed to other craniomorphological abnormalities, including syringomyelia (SM), ventriculomegaly, and craniocervical junction (CCJ) overcrowding resulting in neural tissue deviation. It is, however, undetermined if PFs are more common in dogs with these structural abnormalities, and their etiology is unknown.

Antimicrobial prophylaxis is considered sufficient to preserve an acceptable surgical site infection rate in clean orthopaedic and neurosurgeries in dogs.

Background: Surgical site infections (SSI) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. To lower the incidence of SSI, antimicrobial prophylaxis is given 30-60 min before certain types of surgeries in both human and veterinary patients. However, due to the increasing concern of antimicrobial resistance, the benefit of antimicrobial prophylaxis in clean orthopaedic and neurosurgeries warrants investigation.

The intra- and intertester repeatability of radiographic elbow incongruity grading is high in chondrodystrophic dog breeds.

Elbow incongruity is a form of elbow dysplasia that causes osteoarthritis, pain, and lameness, and it is common in chondrodystrophic dog breeds. The objective of this retrospective secondary analysis study was to evaluate the intra- and interobserver repeatability of a novel radiographic incongruity grading system for assessing elbow incongruity in three chondrodystrophic dog breeds-the dachshund, Skye Terrier, and Glen of Imaal Terrier. We conducted an observer agreement study that included 220 mediolateral antebrachial radiographs from 110 dogs with the elbow in 90° flexion.

The Finnish Canine Stifle Index: responsiveness to change and intertester reliability.

Background: The responsiveness and the intertester reliability of the Finnish Canine Stifle Index (FCSI) were tested, and a cut-off between compromised and severely compromised performance level was set.

Methods: Three groups of dogs were used, 29 with any stifle dysfunction (STIF), 17 with other musculoskeletal disease except stifle (OTHER) and 11 controls (CTRL). All dogs were tested with the FCSI by the same physiotherapist at three occasions, at baseline, at six weeks and 10 weeks, and once also by another physiotherapist.

Seizure-precipitating factors in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy.

Background: Stress, sleep deprivation, and infectious diseases are important seizure-precipitating factors in human epilepsy patients. However, these factors have not been thoroughly studied in epileptic dogs.

Objective: Seizure-precipitating factors are common in dogs with idiopathic epilepsy and the occurrence of these factors associate with the dogs' signalment, personality, and epilepsy-related factors.

Developing a testing battery for measuring dogs' stifle functionality: the Finnish Canine Stifle Index (FCSI).

This study aimed at developing a quantitative testing battery for dogs' stifle functionality, as, unlike in human medicine, currently none is available in the veterinary field. Forty-three dogs with surgically treated unilateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture and 21 dogs with no known musculoskeletal problems were included. Eight previously studied tests: compensation in sitting and lying positions, symmetry of thrust in hindlimbs when rising from lying and sitting, static weight bearing, stifle flexion and extension and muscle mass symmetry, were summed into the Finnish Canine Stifle Index (FCSI).

Effect of a live attenuated vaccine against Lawsonia intracellularis in weaned and finishing pig settings in Finland.

Background: The intracellular bacterium Lawsonia intracellularis is an important pathogen in modern swine production. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a live attenuated L. intracellularis vaccine (Enterisol Ileitis) on the health and production parameters of weaned and finishing pigs in a commercial Finnish 850-sow farm with diagnosed L.

Vital pulp therapy in dogs: 190 cases (2001-2011).

Objective: To evaluate factors associated with the outcome of vital pulp therapy (VPT) in dogs.

Design: Retrospective study.

Sample: 190 teeth in 138 dogs.

A comparison of thermographic imaging, physical examination and modified questionnaire as an instrument to assess painful conditions in cats.

Pain recognition in cats is difficult and requires a multidisciplinary approach for diagnosis. A total of 103 client-owned cats were enrolled in this prospective, blinded clinical trial. Cats were invited to the clinic, or presented for annual rechecks/vaccinations, or gastrointestinal, dental or locomotor problems.