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Objective: To evaluate the occurrence of abdominal effusion and its association with decompressive cystocentesis in male cats with urethral obstruction. Design: Prospective observational clinical study. Animals: Forty‐five male neutered, client‐owned cats with naturally occurring urethral obstruction. Procedures: Laboratory testing and point‐of‐care ultrasonography were performed. Presence of abdominal effusion was evaluated using the Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) technique at presentation. Decompressive cystocentesis was then performed prior to catheterization by a standardized technique. Repeat FAST examination was performed 15 minutes after cystocentesis and the following day to further assess for the presence of abdominal effusion. Results: A mean volume of 92.3 ± 35.2 mL of urine was removed from each cat via cystocentesis prior to catheterization. At presentation, 15 of 45 (33%) had abdominal effusion (13/15 with scant effusion, 2/15 with mild), with an additional 7 cats developing scant effusion 15 minutes post‐cystocentesis. By the following day, 4 cats still had scant effusion present. No significant complications secondary to cystocentesis were reported. No association was found between severity of azotemia, or volume removed by cystocentesis, and the presence of effusion at presentation or after decompressive cystocentesis was performed. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: A single decompressive cystocentesis prior to catheterization did not lead to development of clinically significant abdominal effusion or other discernable complications and appears to be a safe procedure in this population of patients. Abdominal effusion may be found at presentation in cats with urethral obstruction. The significance of this effusion remains to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess the rate of bacterial contamination of fluid and ports in intravenous bags in a veterinary emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU). Design Experimental model. Setting Ninety intravenous fluid bags of lactated balanced-electrolytes solution (1 L) hung in a university hospital. Interventions Bags were hung in 2 different locations in the ER (sink and bins) and one location in the ICU (sink) for 11 days. Bags were punctured 3 times daily with a sterile needle to simulate clinical use. Injection ports were swabbed and 50 mL of fluid were collected in duplicates on days 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10. Aerobic bacterial cultures were performed on the fluid and injection port. Contamination was defined as bacterial growth of a similar phenotype across 2 consecutive times. Increase in the fluid contamination rate from day 0 was tested using an exact binomial test. Port contamination rate between locations was tested using Fisher's exact test. Main Results Combined bacterial growth on injection ports reached a mean (95% confidence interval) of 8.1 (0.005-16.2) cfu/port on day 10. The combined port contamination was 3.3%, 11.1%, 17.8%, and 31.1% on days 0, 2, 4, and 7, respectively. Port contamination was similar between ER and ICU. However, port contamination was higher in the sink versus the bins area (38.3% vs 16.7%, P = 0.032). No fluid bag was contaminated at days 0 and 2. The contamination rate of fluid bag was 1.1% and 4.4% on days 4 and 7, respectively. All bags with contaminated fluid were in the ER (6.7%, 95% exact binomial confidence interval 1.9-16.2%). Conclusions Injection port contamination reached 31.1% on day 7. Contamination was more likely when the bags were hung next to a sink. In our model of bag puncture, fluid contamination occurred between days 2 and 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To: (1) determine the feasibility of using sidestream dark field microscopy (SDM) to measure microcirculatory parameters in healthy, anesthetized cats and (2) determine if surgical tissue manipulation and anesthesia time alter these parameters during ovariohysterectomy. Design Prospective observational study. Setting University teaching hospital. Animals Eighteen healthy female cats. Interventions Sublingual mucosa microcirculatory videos were obtained under general anesthesia preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively using an SDM device in healthy cats presenting for ovariohysterectomy. At each video acquisition point, macrovascular parameters (heart rate, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, end-tidal CO2) were recorded. Vascular analysis software was used to calculate standard microcirculatory parameters. Multivariate analysis was performed to compare microvascular and macrovascular parameters, as well as correlation with the effect of surgical manipulation and time under anesthesia. Measurements and Main Results Twelve of 18 cats were included in final video analysis; 6 were removed for poor video quality. Values for total vessel density (TVD, 47.7 ± 8.39 mm/mm2), proportion of perfused vessels (PPV, 88.2 ± 5.95%), perfused vessel density (PVD, 43.0 ± 9.00 mm/mm2), microcirculatory flow index (MFI, 2.33 ± 0.33) were determined preoperatively. There were no significant changes in TVD, PPV, and PVD across intervention points. The MFI increased significantly from preoperative to intra- and postoperative data collection points. No correlation between microcirculatory parameters and length of anesthesia or macrocirculatory values was found. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance This study demonstrated that SDM can be utilized to obtain sublingual microvascular parameters in healthy, anesthetized cats. Limitations include difficulty in obtaining high quality images, presumed need for general anesthesia, and need for off-line video analysis. This technology has potential as a tool in experimental and clinical monitoring of microcirculatory changes in felines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective– To describe a case of barbiturate toxicosis in a dog secondary to ingestion of a previously buried euthanized goat carcass and to discuss the utility of urine drug testing in diagnosing barbiturate toxicosis. Case Summary– A 6-year-old neutered male Border Collie was presented to a university veterinary teaching hospital for evaluation of ataxia and acute collapse. Past pertinent history included Addison's disease that had been managed for 1 year. A companion dog was seen 12 hours earlier chewing on the partially decomposed head of a goat that had been euthanized 47 days previously and buried on the owner's property. The dog was laterally recumbent, unresponsive to stimuli, and hypothermic on physical examination. Initial blood work revealed hyponatremia and hyperkalemia, with a Na/K ratio of 18.5. The dog was volume resuscitated and received an injection of dexamethasone sodium phosphate due to a suspected Addisonian crisis. Despite this treatment, the dog remained laterally recumbent and unresponsive to stimuli. A urine drug screen was performed and was positive for barbiturates. A diagnosis of barbiturate toxicosis secondary to ingestion of a euthanized goat carcass was made. The dog was treated supportively over 12 hours with IV fluids and activated charcoal. The dog was able to walk 11 hours after presentation and was subsequently discharged from the hospital. New or Unique Information Provided– Urine drug testing is a fast, easy, and point-of-care test that may be useful in dogs to assist in the diagnosis of barbiturate intoxication. Proper disposal of euthanized animals is necessary to prevent toxicosis and possible death of companion animals and wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Compare cardiac index (CI) and oxygen delivery index (DO2I) in conscious, critically ill dogs to control dogs; evaluate the association of CI and DO2I with outcome. Design: Prospective non-randomized clinical study. Setting: Veterinary teaching hospital. Animals: Eighteen client-owned dogs with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and 8 healthy control dogs. Measurements and Main Results: CI of dogs with SIRS was measured using lithium dilution at times 0, 4, 8, 16, and 24 hours. Data collected included physical exam, arterial blood gas (ABG) and hemoximetry. CI of control dogs was measured 3 times with 1 measurement of ABG. Mean CI ± SE in SIRS patients was 3.32 ± 0.95 L/min/m2; lower than controls at 4.18 ± 0.22 L/min/m2 ( P<0.001). Mean DO2I ± SE in SIRS patients was 412.91 ± 156.67 mL O2/min/m2; lower than controls at 785.24 ± 45.99 mL O2/min/m2 ( P<0.001). There was no difference in CI ( P=0.49) or DO2I ( P=0.51) for dogs that survived to discharge versus those that did not. There was no difference in mean CI ( P=0.97) or DO2I ( P=0.50) of survivors versus non-survivors for 28-day survival. Survivors had lower blood glucose ( P=0.03) and serum lactate concentrations ( P=0.04) than non-survivors. Conclusions: CI and DO2I in conscious dogs with SIRS were lower than control dogs, which differs from theories that dogs with SIRS are in a high cardiac output state. CI and DO2I were not significantly different between survivors and non-survivors. Similar to previous studies, lactate and glucose concentrations of survivors were lower than non-survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]