Independent DSG4 frameshift variants in cats with hair shaft dystrophy.

Investigations of hereditary phenotypes in spontaneous mutants may help to better understand the physiological functions of the altered genes. We investigated two unrelated domestic shorthair cats with bulbous swellings of the hair shafts. The clinical, histopathological, and ultrastructural features were similar to those in mice with lanceolate hair phenotype caused by loss-of-function variants in Dsg4 encoding desmoglein 4.

Hand Hygiene Evaluation Using Two Different Evaluation Tools and Hand Contamination of Veterinary Healthcare Workers in a Swiss Companion Animal Clinic.

Hand hygiene (HH) is the most important measure to prevent nosocomial infections. HH compliance in companion animal clinics has been reported to be poor. The present study compared an online application with the WHO evaluation form to assess the WHO five moments of HH in a Swiss companion animal clinic.

Ex vivo study of the intradiskal pressure in the C6-7 intervertebral disk after experimental destabilization and distraction-fusion of the C5-C6 vertebrae in canine cadaveric specimens.

Objective: To evaluate intradiskal pressure (IDP) in the C6-7 intervertebral disk (IVD) after destabilization and distraction-fusion of the C5-C6 vertebrae.

Sample: 7 cadaveric C4-T1 vertebral specimens with no evidence of IVD disease from large-breed dogs.

Procedures: Specimens were mounted in a custom-made 6 degrees of freedom spinal loading simulator so the C5-C6 and C6-C7 segments remained mobile.

Reliability of range-of-motion measurements of healthy dogs examined while walking on a treadmill.

Objective: To determine the reliability of range-of-motion (ROM) measurements and describe physiologic differences in ROM or habituation effects during gait analysis of healthy dogs walking on a treadmill.

Animals: 11 orthopedically normal dogs.

Procedures: ROM of appendicular joints was determined for each dog while walking on a treadmill on 3 consecutive examination days and once again 6 weeks later.

Compensatory Changes in Ground Reaction Forces in Small and Large Breed Dogs with Unilateral Hindlimb Lameness in Comparison to Healthy Dogs.

Objective:  The aim of this study was to investigate whether small- to medium-sized dogs with a naturally occurring unilateral hindlimb lameness show the same compensatory changes in ground reaction forces as large-breed dogs and how the changes are displayed compared with healthy small- to medium-sized dogs.

Study Design:  Small- to medium-sized dogs ( = 15) and large-breed dogs ( = 16) with unilateral rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament were examined. The kinetic parameters peak vertical force and vertical impulse of the two groups were compared with each other and compared with healthy Beagles ( = 15) and with healthy Labrador Retrievers ( = 17), respectively.

Evaluation of Meniscal Load and Load Distribution in the Canine Stifle after Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy with Postoperative Tibia Plateau Angles of 6 and 1 Degrees.

Objective:  The aim of the study was to investigate the kinetic and kinematic changes in the stifle after a tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) with a postoperative tibia plateau angle (TPA) of either 6 or 1 degrees.

Study Design:  Biomechanical study using seven unpaired canine cadaver hindlimbs from adult Retrievers.Hinge plates were applied and a sham TPLO surgery was performed.

Ex vivo comparison of lateral plate repairs of experimental oblique ilial fractures in cats.

Objective: To determine the biomechanical behavior of different plate systems used for oblique ilial fracture fixation in cats.

Study Design: Ex vivo biomechanical study.

Sample Population: Fifty fresh-frozen feline hemipelvises.

Influence of high-protein and high-carbohydrate diets on serum lipid and fructosamine concentrations in healthy cats.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether high-protein and high-carbohydrate diets exert differential effects on serum cholesterol, triglyceride and fructosamine concentrations in healthy cats.

Methods: A randomised, crossover diet trial was performed in 35 healthy shelter cats. Following baseline health assessments, cats were randomised into groups receiving either a high-protein or high-carbohydrate diet for 4 weeks.

Biomechanical comparison of screw and suture fixation for temporary transarticular tarsocrural immobilization in canine cadavers.

Objective: To biomechanically evaluate an ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UWMWPE) suture for temporary tarsocrural immobilization as a potential alternative to the existing surgical method, which uses a 4.5 AO/ASIF calcaneotibial cortical screw.

Study Design: Randomized in vitro biomechanical study.

Modified-Live Feline Calicivirus Vaccination Elicits Cellular Immunity against a Current Feline Calicivirus Field Strain in an Experimental Feline Challenge Study.

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common cat virus associated with oral ulcerations and virulent-systemic disease. Efficacious FCV vaccines protect against severe disease but not against infection. The high genetic diversity of FCV poses a challenge in vaccine design.

Coagulation Status in Dogs Naturally Infected with .

infection has been associated with coagulopathies including hyperfibrinolysis. We compared coagulation status including thromboelastometry (ROTEM) parameters in dogs naturally infected with versus healthy dogs to determine clinicopathological parameters associated with bleeding, hypocoagulopathy, and hyperfibrinolysis. Clinical signs, white blood cell count, platelet count, hematocrit, plasmatic coagulation tests (PT, aPTT, fibrinogen concentration), D-dimer, and ROTEM S parameters (Ex-tem, In-tem, Fib-tem, Ap-tem) were analysed and compared between bleeding, nonbleeding, and control dogs and between hypo- and normocoagulable animals.

Effect of a single dose of pimobendan on right ventricular and right atrial function in 11 healthy cats.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of pimobendan on echocardiographic parameters of right ventricular and atrial function in healthy cats.

Animals: Eleven privately owned, healthy adult cats.

Material And Methods: Each cat underwent five echocardiographic examinations: the first and second examinations were performed 1 h apart on day 0.

A novel therapeutic diet can significantly reduce the medication score and pruritus of dogs with atopic dermatitis during a nine-month controlled study.

Background: Canine atopic dermatitis (cAD) is a common chronic relapsing pruritic skin disease for which management commonly relies on life-long use of immunomodulatory drugs. A number of the medications used are associated with adverse effects and the potential for complications during long-term use.

Hypothesis: The goal of the study was to determine if a complete and balanced diet formulated for therapeutic benefit could contribute towards management of cAD.

Radiographic and anatomical morphometric assessments of heart size in presumed healthy pet guinea pigs.

Cardiac disease in guinea pigs has been reported in the literature; however, reference intervals for normal radiographic heart size obtained using objective measurement methods have not been provided for this species. The aim of this prospective, reference interval study was to describe cardiac dimensions in presumed healthy guinea pigs using the vertebral heart scale (VHS) from thoracic radiographs, as described for dogs and cats. Furthermore, an anatomical study was carried out to compare the radiographic and anatomical findings.

Duration of carriage of multidrug-resistant bacteria in dogs and cats in veterinary care and co-carriage with their owners.

Background: The emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) represent a threat to human and animal health.

Objectives: To assess duration of carriage of MDROs in dogs and cats presented to veterinary clinics/hospitals in Switzerland. To estimate prevalence, duration of and risk factors for MDRO carriage in their owners and the occurrence of co-carriage in owner-pet pairs.

Evaluation of the Dynamic Morphometry of the Caudal Cervical Intervertebral Disc Spaces of Small Dogs and Cats.

The objective of this study was to provide a morphometric description of the caudal cervical intervertebral disc (IVD) spaces of small-breed dogs and cats. Specimens consisting of C4 through C7 from five small-breed dogs and six cats were positioned in neutral, flexion, extension, and lateral bending positions; and CT images were acquired. Height and width of the cranial and caudal vertebral endplates (VEPs), angle between the VEPs (IVD wedge angle), and craniocaudal distance (IVD width) between VEPs for the four loading positions were measured and compared for three segments (C4-C5, C5-C6, and C6-C7).

The cat as a small dog?-Comparison of trabecular and cortical bone microarchitecture of radius and ulna in cats and small dogs using microcomputed tomography.

The forearms of dogs and cats do not only differ anatomically from each other, but there are also differences in prevalence of radius and ulna fractures between the two species. The prevalence of antebrachial fractures is 18.0% in dogs and 2.

Modified-Live Feline Calicivirus Vaccination Reduces Viral RNA Loads, Duration of RNAemia, and the Severity of Clinical Signs after Heterologous Feline Calicivirus Challenge.

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common cat virus causing clinical signs such as oral ulcerations, fever, reduced general condition, pneumonia, limping and occasionally virulent-systemic disease. Efficacious FCV vaccines protect against severe disease but not against infection. FCV is a highly mutagenic RNA virus whose high genetic diversity poses a challenge in vaccine design.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Dogs and Cats from Southern Germany and Northern Italy during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected millions of people globally since its first detection in late 2019. Besides humans, cats and, to some extent, dogs were shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, highlighting the need for surveillance in a One Health context. Seven veterinary clinics from regions with high incidences of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were recruited during the early pandemic (March to July 2020) for the screening of patients.

Filling the vacuum: Role of negative pressure wound therapy in open wound management in cats.

Practical Relevance: Open wounds and their treatment present a common challenge in veterinary practice. Approaching 15 years ago negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) started to be incorporated into clinical veterinary medicine, and its availability is becoming more widespread in Europe and the USA. Use of this therapy has the potential to significantly increase the healing rate of open wounds as well as free skin grafts in small animals, and it has been occasionally described for the management of feline wounds.

Computer-aided ration calculation (Diet Check Munich ) versus blood profile in raw fed privately owned dogs.

Many dog owners create nutritionally imbalanced raw meat-based diets (RMBD) with information from the Internet and pseudo-scientific books, some even use pre-prepared frozen raw feed from online shops, local butchers or other providers. The risk of nutritional imbalances is therefore present. Blood profiles for dogs fed RMBD are promoted by laboratories as a simple tool for the owner to check the nutritional supply situation.

Corynebacterium rouxii, a recently described member of the C. diphtheriae group isolated from three dogs with ulcerative skin lesions.

Corynebacterium (C.) diphtheriae is one of the two etiological pathogens for human diphtheria with significant morbidity and mortality. Recently, members of its biovar Belfanti have been described as two novel species, C.

Balloon valvuloplasty of valvular pulmonary stenosis in a neonatal foal.

In a 1-day old filly with a loud heart murmur, transthoracic echocardiography revealed right ventricular hypertrophy associated with severe pulmonary valvular stenosis and a transvalvular pressure gradient (between right ventricle and pulmonary artery) of 125 mmHg. Computed tomographic angiography confirmed the finding, with no evidence of other relevant concurrent abnormalities. Balloon valvuloplasty was performed using a single balloon technique.