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.

Association of leukergy (in vitro leukocyte aggregation) with systemic inflammation in dogs and cats (2017-2022).

Background: Leukergy is the phenomenon of aggregation of leukocytes on a peripheral blood film, and in humans, it is used as an indicator of systemic inflammation and infection.

Objectives: To assess the association of leukergy on blood film examination with biochemical and clinical evidence of systemic inflammation, infection, neoplasia, or specific organ system disease.

Methods: A case-control study using retrospective analysis (2017-2022) identified all canine and feline patients that had been presented to an academic referral center with a finding of leukergy on peripheral blood film and an equal number of species-matched controls.

Spindle-cell thymoma colliding with a bronchogenic cyst in a Yorkshire terrier.

An 8-year-old male Yorkshire terrier was presented to the Tufts Veterinary Hospital for evaluation of increased respiratory effort. A mediastinal mass composed of a spindle-cell thymoma within a bronchogenic cyst was diagnosed with computed tomography thoracic imaging, ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspirate biopsy, and histopathologic evaluation after surgical removal. Histologic evaluation showed a multilocular cyst structure as well as a mass characterized by spindle to polygonal thymic epithelial cells.

Equine Granulocytic Anaplasmosis.

Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis is a clinically significant and common disease of equids that has a broader prevalence than was once thought. The most common clinical signs include high fever and edema, with mild to mderate thrombocytopenia and lymphopenia typically noted on complete blood count. Subclinical cases are reported and many are self-limiting.

Modification of empirical antimicrobial regimens in large animal medicine.

Background: Empirical antimicrobial regimens can be modified following new diagnostic information or when empirical treatment fails. Little is known about the frequency or clinical context in which these modifications occur. We characterised these modifications in a large animal hospital to identify when antimicrobial use could be optimised.

Equine Inflammatory Markers in the Twenty-First Century: A Focus on Serum Amyloid A.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a marker of inflammation and infection in the horse that can be assessed in the field, with rapid and marked changes seen following initiation of an inflammatory stimulus. This quality of SAA also makes its clinical use challenging, because even small inflammatory conditions can cause large changes in SAA levels. Review of the current literature provides guidelines for responses of SAA to various conditions, which can be applied to specific clinical cases.

Antimicrobial prescribing patterns of clinicians and clinical services at a large animal veterinary teaching hospital.

Objective: To characterize antimicrobial prescribing patterns of clinicians and clinical services at a large animal veterinary teaching hospital and identify factors associated with antimicrobial prescribing.

Animals: All large animals (ie, equids, bovids, sheep, goats, camelids, swine, and cervids) evaluated at the New Bolton Center hospital at the University of Pennsylvania from 2013 through 2018.

Procedures: In a cross-sectional study design, data on antimicrobial use by clinicians and clinical services were collected from administrative and billing records.

Comparison of Tube, Gel, and Immunochromatographic Strip Methods for Evaluation of Blood Transfusion Compatibility in Horses.

Background: Assessment of blood compatibility, typically by tube agglutination (TUBE) and hemolysis crossmatch or, less commonly, by blood typing and alloantibody screening, often is performed before blood transfusion in horses. In contrast, gel column (GEL) and immunochromatographic strip (STRIP) techniques are preferred for compatibility testing in dogs and cats.

Objective: To determine the accuracy of novel and standard crossmatch and typing methods.

Clinical and Pathological Features of Pheochromocytoma in the Horse: A Multi-Center Retrospective Study of 37 Cases (2007-2014).

Background: Pheochromocytoma is the most common adrenal medullary neoplasm of domestic animals, but it is rare in horses. Antemortem diagnosis in horses is difficult, with clinical signs often being vague or non-specific.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the clinical, laboratory, and pathologic findings of pheochromocytoma in horses.

Efficacy of major anthelmintics for reduction of fecal shedding of strongyle-type eggs in horses in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

In the last decade there have been numerous reports of anthelmintic resistant cyathostomins in many parts of the world. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the commercially available anthelmintics against cyathostomin egg shedding in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. A total of 989 horses from 67 different farms located in southeastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware, and northeastern Maryland were treated with fenbendazole, oxibendazole, pyrantel pamoate, ivermectin, or moxidectin at their recommended dosages.

Survival Time of Cross-Match Incompatible Red Blood Cells in Adult Horses.

Background: There is a markedly reduced half-life of transfused RBCs when donor and recipient cats or humans are cross-match incompatible. Only 10-20% of horses have naturally occurring alloantibodies. Therefore, cross-match testing before blood transfusion is not always performed.

Plasma Peak and Trough Gentamicin Concentrations in Hospitalized Horses Receiving Intravenously Administered Gentamicin.

Background: Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antimicrobial commonly used in horses at 6.6 mg/kg IV once daily. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) can confirm desired peak concentration is reached for common bacterial isolates, and detect toxicosis associated with high trough values.

Effect of long-term oral administration of a low dosage of clenbuterol on body fat percentage in working and nonworking adult horses.

Objective: To determine the anabolic and lipolytic effects of a low dosage of clenbuterol administered orally in working and nonworking equids.

Animals: 8 nonworking horses and 47 polo ponies in active training.

Procedures: Each polo pony continued training and received either clenbuterol (0.

Treatment of idiopathic headshaking in horses with pulsed high-dose dexamethasone.

Background: Treatment of idiopathic headshaking in horses is complicated by an incomplete understanding of underlying pathophysiology and partially effective treatments. If an inflammatory etiology exists, corticosteroids could be beneficial.

Hypothesis: An anti-inflammatory dose of dexamethasone reduces the signs of idiopathic headshaking in a field setting.

Effect of clenbuterol on tracheal mucociliary transport in horses undergoing simulated long-distance transportation.

Background: Pneumonia is observed in horses after long-distance transportation in association with confinement of head position leading to reduction in tracheal mucociliary clearance rate (TMCR).

Hypothesis/objectives: Clenbuterol, a beta-2 agonist shown to increase TMCR in the horse, will ameliorate the effects of a fixed elevated head position on large airway contamination and inflammation in a model of long-distance transportation model.

Animals: Six adult horses.

Flow rates of large animal fluid delivery systems used for high-volume crystalloid resuscitation.

Objectives: Large animal species in states of shock can require particularly high flow rates for volume resuscitation and the ability to deliver adequate volumes rapidly may be a rate-limiting step. The objective of this study was to determine the maximum flow rates of common combinations of IV catheter, extension set, and fluid administration sets.

Settings: University veterinary teaching hospital.

Effect of sample storage on blood crossmatching in horses.

Background: Blood samples banked for up to 1 month are typically used to perform pretransfusion testing in humans and small animals, but this has not been validated using blood from horses.

Hypothesis: Compatibility of equine blood samples is repeatable using fresh samples, and reproducible using donor blood samples stored for up to 4 weeks.

Animals: Six healthy adult horses.