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Background Besides acting as definitive hosts for Echinococcus multilocularis, dogs can become infected by the larval form of this parasite and thereby develop life-threatening alveolar echinococcosis (AE). Although AE is a zoonotic disease, most therapeutic and diagnostic approaches have been developed for human patients. In dogs, AE is typically diagnosed in the advanced stage of the disease when the parasitic mass has already caused abdominal distension. At that stage, complete resection of the parasitic mass is often impossible, leaving a guarded prognosis for the affected dogs. For humans, sensitive and specific diagnostic protocols relying on serology have been validated and are now widely used. In contrast, sensitive and specific laboratory diagnostic tools that would enable early diagnosis of canine AE are still lacking. The aim of the current study was to establish a serological protocol specifically adapted to dogs. Methods We tested several native and recombinant antigens (EmVF, Em2, recEm95, recEm18) in in-house ELISA, an in-house Western blot (WB), as well as a commercially available WB developed for serodiagnosing human AE (Anti-Echinococcus EUROLINE-WB®), using a panel of known status dog sera. Results RecEm95-antigen was revealed to be the most promising antigen for use in ELISA, demonstrating 100% (95% CI: 72–100%) sensitivity and 100% (95% CI: 93–100%) specificity in our study. The in-house WB using EmVF antigen performed as well as the recEm95-ELISA. The commercial WB also correctly identified all infected dogs, coupled with a specificity of 98% (95% CI: 91–100%). Conclusion The recEm95-ELISA alone or in combination with either the in-house WB or the Anti-Echinococcus EUROLINE-WB® (IgG) with a minor modification should be considered as the best current approach for the serological diagnosis of dogs infected with the larval stage of E. multilocularis. However, larger studies with a focus on potentially cross-reacting sera should be undertaken to verify these findings.

The positive outcome of any surgical procedure depends on the correct management of the pre-, intra- and post-operative periods. Actually, it is not possible to consider the last as a separate entity even if it has its own properties, it is also the direct evolution of the two preceding periods. Therefore, these periods should be better identified as perioperative medicine [1].

The emergence from the drug-induced coma necessary during surgery is the most critical phase in the post-operative period. At present, 50% of deaths correlated with surgery occur in the first hours of recovery [1]. Patients need observation after any anaesthetic procedure. The level of monitoring may differ according to type of surgery, anaesthetic, patient’s conditions and possible complications. Careful and intensive monitoring cannot be achieved in a busy surgical ward, but on the other hand not all patients need to be transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU). The recovery room (RR) can be a satisfactory answer to the needs of post-operative patients.

The recovery room (RR) is defined, according to the Society of Anaesthesiology of Great Britain and Ireland, as “the place where the patient coming from the operating theatre stays till recovery of consciousness and haemodynamic and respiratory steady-state” [1]. The RR was created to make a smooth passage from the operating theatre to the ward, since correct perioperative management improves the outcome of surgery. Emergence from the drug-induced coma necessary during surgery is the most-critical phase; 50% of perioperative deaths occur during the first perioperative hours [2]. Moreover, technical and pharmacological improvements in surgery and anaesthesiology allow us to operate on elderly patients and patients with ASA III and IV pathologies. These patients need high intensive-level monitoring for the immediate post operative period, therefore the RR is gaining greater importance today.

The power spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed during dynamic exercises at different intensities while pedaling in both the orthostatic (O) and clinostatic (C) positions. In addition to a decrease in HRV, with increasing work load high-frequency (HF) peak shifts to higher frequencies in both the O and C positions, reflecting increased ventilation. With increasing exercise intensity, the low frequency (LF) peak decreases toward negligible values in the O position while it increases the C position. A combined effort of gravity and vasodilatation could be responsible for the disappearance of the LF peak in the O position. >