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Background: The incidence of post-discharge nausea and vomiting (PDNV) after ambulatory anaesthesia using total intravenous anaesthesia with a risk-stratified anti-emetic approach is not well documented in the literature. In this study, we outline such an approach. The goal was to achieve an acceptably low rate of PDNV both immediately and the day after surgery.Methods: With ethics committee approval, adult patients undergoing outpatient surgery received a Propofol-based general anaesthetic plus standardised PONV-prophylaxis corresponding to their Apfel risk-score (0-4); ondansetron (risk-score 2), additional dexamethasone (risk-score 3), and additional droperidol (risk-score 4). On post-operative days one and two, patients scored PDNV and pain (numeric rating scale (NRS); 0 = none at all; 10 = worst imaginable). On post-operative day two, patients indicated the level of interference of PDNV and/or pain with their quality of life. Data are descriptive (%) or mean.Results: There were 222 patients included (age 43 years, 44% female, anaesthesia time 95 min). On the day of surgery, 69.4% of patients did not experience any nausea, 10.4% complained about severe (NRS > 6) nausea, 6.3% experienced vomiting or retching. On the first and second postoperative day, nausea was absent in 88.7% of patients and 97.3%, respectively. Quality of life was impacted (NRS ≥ 4) more by pain (32.8% of cases), than by PDNV (13.6%).Conclusion: Acceptably low rates of PDNV were achieved with the proposed standardised approach to PDNV prophylaxis. For almost 90% of patients, PDNV was not an issue the first day after surgery. Pain after discharge was a more common problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The memory response of BALB/c mice to phosphocholine-keyhole limpet haemocyanin (PC-KLH) consists of two antibody populations, designated Group I and Group II, that differ in their fine specificity, as determined by hapten inhibition using phosphocholine (PC) and p-nitrophenylphos-phocholine (NPPC). It is known that Group I response is dominated by T15 idiotype-positive antibodies that utilize the VH I heavy-chain gene in combination with VK22 light-chain gene. In this paper we show that Group II serum antibodies of BALE/c mice are also highly restricted in their heterogeneity, as determined by N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the Group II response is not affected by neonatally induced T15 suppression, whereas the Group I response in these mice consists of T1 5-negative antibodies. This suggests that the expression of the two antibody populations is regulated independently. Finally, we show that the isotype distributions within a fine specificity are the same in normal and T15-suppressed mice. Interestingly this is true not only for the Group II but also for the Group I antibodies. Because the isolated Group I antibodies from normal mice differ in structure from those of T15-suppressed mice, i.e. different light chains, our data indicate that the isotype distribution of these two populations is associated with their fine specificity in addition to their clonal origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nobivac® Lepto (MSD Animal Health) is a non-adjuvanted canine leptospirosis vaccine containing inactivated whole cells of Leptospira interrogans serogroup Canicola serovar Portlandvere and L. interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae serovar Copenhageni. The current standard in vivo potency test is a hamster challenge test associated with major drawbacks such as animal suffering and poor reproducibility. Here, the quantification of antigenic mass by ELISA as a new in vitro potency test is described, supporting the 3Rs concept (replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal tests) and in accordance with European Pharmacopoeia Monograph 0447 (Canine Leptospirosis Vaccine [Inactivated]). The two corresponding sandwich ELISAs are based on monoclonal antibodies specific for immunodominant leptospiral lipopolysaccharide epitopes. Protection in passive immunization experiments demonstrate that these monoclonal antibodies recognize key protective antigens in currently licensed human and veterinary whole cell Leptospira vaccines. The high precision and robustness renders the two ELISAs much more reliable correlates of potency in dogs than the hamster potency test. The recent approval of these assays for a new canine leptospirosis vaccine is an important contribution to the 3Rs in quality control testing of Leptospira vaccines. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]