Compassion Fatigue Rounds (CFR): A Proactive Brief Intervention to Introduce Mental Health Awareness in a Veterinary Clerkship.

The mental health and well-being of veterinary students and graduate veterinarians is a critical area of concern. Veterinary students experience high levels of psychological distress, particularly during transitional periods such as clinical training. While mental health interventions typically target pre-clinical years, the unique challenges faced by clinical students are often overlooked, resulting in inadequate support during important periods of professional development.

Study design: think 'scientific value' not '-values'.

Statistically based experimental designs have been available for over a century. However, many preclinical researchers are completely unaware of these methods, and the success of experiments is usually equated only with ' < 0.05'.

Use of near-infrared fluorescence angiography with indocyanine green to evaluate direct cutaneous arteries used for canine axial pattern flaps.

Objective: To describe the use of near-infrared angiography (NIRFA) to identify the vascularization of three canine axial pattern flaps (APFs) omocervical (OMO), thoracodorsal (THO), and caudal superficial epigastric (CSE); to establish a vascular fluorescence pattern (VFP) grading system; and to evaluate the effect of NIRFA on surgeon flap dimension planning compared to traditional landmark palpation (LP) and visualization assessments.

Study Design: Experimental study.

Animals: A total of 15 healthy, client-owned dogs.

Lactate to Albumin Ratio Is Not Predictive of Outcome in Septic Dogs: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

The objective of this study was to investigate the value of the lactate to albumin ratio (L:A) as a prognostic marker for mortality in septic dogs. A single-center retrospective case-control study based on clinical record review was conducted at an academic teaching hospital. All records were extracted for diagnoses of bacterial sepsis, septic peritonitis, septic shock, or septicemia between February 2012 and October 2021.

Effects of Refined Handling on Reproductive Indices of BALB/cJ and CD-1 IGS Mice.

Current mouse handling methods during cage change procedures can cause stress and potentially compromise animal welfare. Our previous study of breeding C57BL/6J mice found modest increases in pup production and a significant reduction in preweaning litter losses when mice were handled using a tunnel as compared with a tail-lift with padded forceps. The current study evaluated how these 2 handling methods affected reproduction by 2 additional mouse strains, BALB/cJ (a low- to intermediate-fecundity strain) and CD-1 IGS (a high-fecundity stock).

Using refined methods to pick up mice: A survey benchmarking prevalence & beliefs about tunnel and cup handling.

Refined handling improves laboratory mouse welfare and research outcomes when compared to traditional tail handling, yet implementation does not seem to be widespread. Refined handling includes picking up a mouse using a tunnel or cupped hands. The aim of this study was to determine the current prevalence of and beliefs towards refined handling using the theory of planned behavior.

Geometric, landmark-guided technique reduces tissue trauma, surgery time, and subjective difficulty for canine peripheral lymphadenectomies: an educational crossover study.

Objective: To compare the effect of a geometric, landmark-guided lymphadenectomy (LL) approach to peripheral lymph nodes (LNs) on successful LN identification, surgical time, tissue trauma, and ease of LN identification compared to standard lymphadenectomy (SL) and methylene blue-guided lymphadenectomy (MBL).

Sample: 18 adult, mixed-breed canine cadavers operated on by 7 veterinarians and 5 fourth-year veterinary students between July 23 and October 12, 2022.

Methods: Participants were provided standardized, publicly available materials regarding the anatomy and surgical techniques for SL of 3 peripheral lymphocentrums: superficial cervical, axillary (ALN), and superficial inguinal (SILN).

Superficial anatomic landmarks can be used to triangulate the location of canine peripheral lymphocentrums: superficial cervical, axillary, and superficial inguinal.

Objective: To utilize the geometry of superficial anatomic landmarks to guide incisional location and orientation for peripheral lymphadenectomy, document deep anatomic landmarks for lymphocentrum identification, and develop novel surgical approaches to the superficial cervical, axillary, and superficial inguinal lymphocentrums in dogs.

Animals: 12 canine cadavers.

Procedures: 2 cadavers were used for a pilot investigation to determine optimal body positioning, select superficial anatomic landmarks for lymphocentrum identification, and evaluate novel surgical approaches to the 3 lymphocentrums.

'Invisible actors'-How poor methodology reporting compromises mouse models of oncology: A cross-sectional survey.

The laboratory mouse is a key player in preclinical oncology research. However, emphasis of techniques reporting at the expense of critical animal-related detail compromises research integrity, animal welfare, and, ultimately, the translation potential of mouse-based oncology models. To evaluate current reporting practices, we performed a cross-sectional survey of 400 preclinical oncology studies using mouse solid-tumour models.

Between two stools: preclinical research, reproducibility, and statistical design of experiments.

Translation of animal-based preclinical research is hampered by poor validity and reproducibility issues. Unfortunately, preclinical research has 'fallen between the stools' of competing study design traditions. Preclinical studies are often characterised by small sample sizes, large variability, and 'problem' data.

Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony.

Non-aversive handling is a well-documented refinement measure for improving rodent welfare. Because maternal stress is related to reduced productivity, we hypothesized that welfare benefits associated with non-aversive handling would translate to higher production and fewer litters lost in a laboratory mouse breeding colony. We performed a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a standard method of handling (tail-lift with forceps) versus non-aversive handling with transfer tunnels ('tunnel-handled') on breeding performance in 59 C57BL/6J mouse pairs.

Right axis deviation in the canine electrocardiogram for predicting severity of pulmonic stenosis: a retrospective cohort analysis.

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of right axis deviation of the mean electrical axis (MEA) in assessing the severity of pulmonic stenosis (PS) in dogs.

Animals: Records for 218 client-owned dogs diagnosed between 2014 and 2020 with PS as determined by Doppler echocardiography.

Procedures: University of Florida Small Animal Clinic medical records were reviewed, and signalment and clinical risk variables (murmur grade and clinical signs) were extracted.

The ARRIVE guidelines 2.0: updated guidelines for reporting animal research.

Reproducible science requires transparent reporting. The ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) were originally developed in 2010 to improve the reporting of animal research. They consist of a checklist of information to include in publications describing in vivo experiments to enable others to scrutinise the work adequately, evaluate its methodological rigour and reproduce the methods and results.

Evaluation of clinical examination location on stress in cats: a randomized crossover trial.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of owner separation and physical examination location on fear, anxiety and stress (FAS) behavioral indicators in cats.

Methods: The study was a prospective, non-blinded, randomized, two-period, two-treatment crossover trial. Healthy adult cats presenting for wellness or dental evaluations at a single veterinary teaching hospital received three physical examinations: a baseline assessment (owner present) followed by physical examinations in both a treatment area (owner absent [TAOA]) and an examination room (owner present [EROP]).

Preclinical Research Reporting in Shock: Room for Improvement.

The ARRIVE (Animals in Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) guidelines were endorsed by the Shock Society in 2012, but to date there has been no systematic evaluation of research reporting quality for Shock. We systematically assessed 100 randomly selected animal-based research articles published between 2014 and 2018 for reporting quality and statistical practice, compared with 40 pre-ARRIVE studies. More than half of surveyed papers omitted verifiable ethical oversight information and basic animal descriptive information.

When Evidence Goes "Missing in Action": Implications for Patient Management in Cardiac Surgery.

Best-practice clinical decision-making for patient blood management (PBM) and transfusion in cardiac surgery requires high-quality, timely information. However, evidence will be misleading if published information lags too far behind evolving practice, or if trial results are biased, incomplete, or unreported. The result is that providers are deprived of accurate data, and patients will not receive best possible care.

The ARRIVE guidelines 2.0: updated guidelines for reporting animal research.

Reproducible science requires transparent reporting. The ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) were originally developed in 2010 to improve the reporting of animal research. They consist of a checklist of information to include in publications describing in vivo experiments to enable others to scrutinise the work adequately, evaluate its methodological rigour, and reproduce the methods and results.

The ARRIVE guidelines 2.0: Updated guidelines for reporting animal research.

Reproducible science requires transparent reporting. The ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) were originally developed in 2010 to improve the reporting of animal research. They consist of a checklist of information to include in publications describing in vivo experiments to enable others to scrutinise the work adequately, evaluate its methodological rigour, and reproduce the methods and results.

Reporting animal research: Explanation and elaboration for the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0.

Improving the reproducibility of biomedical research is a major challenge. Transparent and accurate reporting is vital to this process; it allows readers to assess the reliability of the findings and repeat or build upon the work of other researchers. The ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) were developed in 2010 to help authors and journals identify the minimum information necessary to report in publications describing in vivo experiments.

The ARRIVE guidelines 2.0: Updated guidelines for reporting animal research.

Reproducible science requires transparent reporting. The ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) were originally developed in 2010 to improve the reporting of animal research. They consist of a checklist of information to include in publications describing in vivo experiments to enable others to scrutinise the work adequately, evaluate its methodological rigour, and reproduce the methods and results.

The ARRIVE guidelines 2.0: Updated guidelines for reporting animal research.

Reproducible science requires transparent reporting. The ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) were originally developed in 2010 to improve the reporting of animal research. They consist of a checklist of information to include in publications describing in vivo experiments to enable others to scrutinise the work adequately, evaluate its methodological rigour, and reproduce the methods and results.