Bilateral diaphragmatic paralysis in a weanling donkey jack.

Objective: To describe the clinical presentation and diagnosis of bilateral diaphragmatic paralysis in a weanling miniature donkey jack.

Case Summary: A 5-month-old miniature donkey jack presented to a tertiary care facility for fever, cough, and increased respiratory rate and effort initially unresponsive to treatment with antimicrobials and anti-inflammatories. Clinical and diagnostic evaluations found no evidence of upper respiratory obstruction or bacterial pneumonia.

Prospective, longitudinal assessment of subchondral bone morphology and pathology using standing, cone-beam computed tomography in fetlock joints of 2-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses in their first year of training.

Background: Catastrophic injuries of the fetlock joints occur in Thoroughbred racehorses and are preceded by stress-induced bone injury. Early detection of subchondral bone injury is essential to prevent irreversible damage or bone failure.

Objectives: To investigate the use of standing, robotic cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for assessing longitudinal changes in subchondral bone morphology and pathology of the fetlock joints associated with race training in young Thoroughbreds.

Effect of ambulation following 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose injection on standing positron emission tomography of the healthy equine digit.

Objective: Measure 18F-FDG uptake in digital tissues of healthy horses subjected to different ambulatory conditions between the time of injection and positron emission tomography (PET) scan acquisition.

Animals: 8 healthy adult horses.

Methods: Horses were walked (AMB) or tied in stalls (NONAMB) immediately after injection with ∼1.

Interobserver agreement of lateral and oblique radiography and standing cone beam CT of the caudal cervical articular process joints of horses.

Caudal cervical articular process joint osteoarthritis (CAPJ OA) leads to career-altering clinical signs in the horse. Oblique radiographs and standing cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) facilitate the assessment of this area, however, the variability of interpretation of these images is currently unknown. This retrospective, secondary analysis, methods comparison study investigated interobserver agreement between clinicians and modality in grades of CAPJ OA on lateral and oblique radiographs and CBCT.

Identification of a previously unreported site of subchondral bone injury in the dorsodistolateral calcaneus in Thoroughbred racehorses.

Background: Increasing accessibility and advancements in computed tomographic (CT) imaging improve understanding of the contributors to poor performance in the Thoroughbred racehorse.

Objectives: To characterise an unreported site of tarsal subchondral bone injury (SBI) in Thoroughbred racehorses.

Study Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional analytical study.

Gross, histopathologic, microbiologic, and radiologic characterization of lesions associated with clinical lameness in a cohort of group-housed sows euthanized for lameness.

Lameness in sows is reported as the most frequent cause of early culling from commercial farms and results in reduced productivity, economic losses, and a negative impact on animal welfare. Osteochondrosis was reported as the leading cause of lameness in North American sows and, although more recent European studies report infectious arthritis as the leading cause, lameness in US production facilities using group housing for gestating sows has not yet been evaluated. This study's aim was to characterize lesions associated with lameness in the appendicular musculoskeletal system of 26 sows euthanized for lameness using pathologic, radiologic, and microbiologic analyses.

Percutaneous doxycycline sclerotherapy in a horse with a mandibular aneurysmal bone cyst.

Objective: To describe the use and outcome of sclerotherapy with intralesional doxycycline foam in a horse with a mandibular aneurysmal bone cyst.

Study Design: Case report.

Animals: Client-owned 1 year old Standardbred filly.

Computed tomographic assessment of fracture characteristics and subchondral bone injury in Thoroughbred racehorses with lateral condylar fractures and their relationship to outcome.

Objective: To investigate the effects of fracture characteristics and concurrent subchondral bone pathology identified with computed tomography (CT) on the racing performance of Thoroughbred racehorses with fractures of the MC3/MT3 lateral condyle.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Sample Population: Thoroughbred racehorses (n = 50) with a fracture of the MC3/MT3 lateral condyle, which had preoperative CT and internal fixation performed.

Treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism in a Miniature Horse using chemical ablation of abnormal parathyroid tissue localized by 3-phase computed tomography.

A 15-year-old Miniature Horse mare with persistently increased plasma calcium (total and ionized) and serum parathyroid hormone concentrations was presented for suspected primary hyperparathyroidism. Ultrasonography of the thyroid region identified an enlarged heterogeneous mass axial to the right thyroid lobe suggestive of an enlarged parathyroid gland, which was further confirmed using sestamibi nuclear scintigraphy and 3-phase computed tomography. Percutaneous ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation of the mass, a method not previously described in the horse, was performed under general anesthesia resulting in rapid normalization of plasma ionized calcium and serum parathyroid hormone concentrations.

Validation of standing cone beam computed tomography for diagnosing subchondral fetlock pathology in the Thoroughbred racehorse.

Background: Subchondral bone pathology is common in Thoroughbred racehorses and believed to precede more serious injury. Early identification of pathology is critical to allow for intervention.

Objectives: To determine interobserver variability of fetlock subchondral bone lesions using cone beam and fan beam computed tomography (CBCT, FBCT) and to validate a robotics-controlled CBCT to identify fetlock subchondral bone pathology in the Thoroughbred racehorse.

Inflammatory cytokines in horses with cervical articular process joint osteoarthritis on standing cone beam computed tomography.

Background: Standing cone beam computed tomography (CT) provides cross-sectional imaging of the caudal cervical articular process joints (CAPJs) in the sedated horse, though the clinical implications of osteoarthritis (OA) identified on CT in this location are unknown. Increases in concentrations of intra-synovial cytokines could lend support to the clinical significance of CAPJ OA identified on this imaging modality.

Objectives: Investigate the presence and concentration of intra-synovial inflammatory cytokines in CAPJs with and without standing cone beam CT evidence of OA using an equine specific multiplex assay.

Standing Arthroscopic Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Sepsis in a Horse.

A 15-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was presented for investigation of fever, right temporomandibular region swelling, and progressive pain when opening the mouth. Right temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sepsis was diagnosed based on synovial fluid analysis, sonographic imaging, and standing robotic cone-beam computed tomography. Concurrent otitis media and temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO) were also noted.

Cervical Epidural and Subarachnoid Catheter Placement in Standing Adult Horses.

Horses underwent either cervical epidural space (CES) catheterization or subarachnoid space (SAS) catheterization while restrained in stocks, under deep sedation (detomidine and morphine) and local anesthesia (mepivacaine 2%) block. Catheters were placed under ultrasound guidance with visualization of the dura, SAS, and spinal cord between the first (C1) and second (C2) cervical vertebrae. Following sedation and sterile skin preparation, operator 1 placed under ultrasound guidance, a 6- or 8-inch Tuohy needle with the bevel oriented caudally.

Long-term outcome and effect of diagnostic analgesia in horses undergoing interspinous ligament desmotomy for overriding dorsal spinous processes.

Objective: To report the long-term outcome of horses treated with interspinous ligament desmotomy (ISLD) for pain associated with overriding dorsal spinous processes (ORDSP) and determine the influence of preoperative diagnostic analgesia on long-term outcome.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: Eighteen horses.

Diagnosis of Skeletal Injury in the Sport Horse.

This article discusses the basis of image formation of radiography, scintigraphy, PET, computed tomography (fan beam and cone beam), and magnetic resonance as it relates to imaging of musculoskeletal injury in the sport horse. The benefits and drawbacks of each modality are discussed with particular emphasis on sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of identification of subchondral bone injury. Examples of straightforward as well as confounding lesions are provided, emphasizing the need for appropriate clinical workup and diagnostic analgesia, where appropriate.