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Alfaxalone is a commonly employed veterinary anaesthetic induction and sedation agent. A 4% w/v preserved, aqueous formulation of alfaxalone 'RD0387' (A4%) has recently been developed. To evaluate the sedative effects of A4%, three doses, 5 mg kg−1 (A5); 7.5 mg kg−1 (A7.5) and 10 mg kg−1 (A10) were administered intramuscularly into the epaxial musculature of six healthy adult mixed‐breed dogs in an experimental, randomized, blinded, crossover study. Sedation time variables, quality of sedation (including onset of sedation and recovery), physiological variables, response to cephalic vein catheterization and frequency of undesirable events were recorded. Continuous variables were analysed between treatments (one‐way ANOVA or restricted maximum likelihood modelling) and within treatments compared with baseline (Tukey's test). Categorical data were analysed between treatments (Kruskal‐Wallis' test) and within treatments from baseline (Dunn's test). Significance was set at p <.05. All dogs became sedated (laterally recumbent) and sedation onset was significantly faster in groups A7.5 (9.8 ± 5.3 min) and A10 (9.1 ± 5.6 min) compared to A5 (25.6 ± 16.1 min) (p =.033, p =.027, respectively). Duration of sedation was significantly longer in A10 (168.5 ± 70.6 min) and A7.5 (143.8 ± 58 min) compared to A5 (63.8 ± 28.2 min) (p =.005 and p =.003, respectively). Dogs in A10 had a superior quality of onset of sedation compared to A5 (p =.028). Sedation scores and quality of recovery from sedation were not significantly different between doses. Two dogs (2/6) in A5 were insufficiently sedated for cephalic catheterization. Ataxia was the most frequently observed undesirable event with an overall frequency of 78% (14/18) and 89% (16/18) during sedation onset and recovery, respectively. Overall, A4% administered IM in dogs at 7.5 and 10 mg kg−1 resulted in sufficient sedation for IV catheterization in dogs. To improve the speed and quality of the sedation, it is recommended that future research focuses on combining A4% with other sedative or analgesic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Post‐traumatic distal limb wounds cause discomfort and heal gradually by second intention. The topical application of Tri‐Solfen (lidocaine hydrochloride, bupivacaine hydrochloride, adrenaline acid tartrate and cetrimide [LBAC]) produces effective postsurgical cutaneous analgesia in lambs, calves and piglets; however, its effect on wounds in horses is unknown. Methods: The antinociceptive effect, measured by mechanical threshold (MT), and the wound healing impacts of LBAC compared with saline were investigated on surgically created 20 × 20 mm distal limb wounds in 10 horses. Treatment was applied once daily for 7 days following wounding on day 0. Mechanical thresholds were measured after treatment on days 1, 2 and 3. Healing was observed for 25 days. Results: The topical application of LBAC immediately following wounding and its reapplication 24 hours later increased the average MT on the first post‐traumatic day by 3 Newtons. However, no antinociceptive benefit was observed on days 2 or 3. Treatment with LBAC did not adversely affect wound healing when compared with saline. Limitations: Methodological differences preclude absolute MT comparisons between studies. The experimental design did not include a model of contaminated or naturally occurring wounds. Conclusion: LBAC may provide an early antinociceptive benefit when applied to uncontaminated surgically created wounds without compromising healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hospital specialist diabetes team should be multidisciplinary and include doctors, specialist nurses, dietitians and podiatrists. In reality, however, it is often the DSN who becomes pivotal in providing a [...]

The objective of this study was to determine how in vitro mechanical stimulation of tissue engineered constructs affects their stiffness and modulus in culture and tendon repair biomechanics 12 weeks after surgical implantation. Using six female adult New Zealand White rabbits, autogenous tissue engineered constructs were created by seeding mesenchymal stem cells (0.1 x 106 cells/ml) in collagen gel (2.6 mg/ml) and combining both with a collagen sponge. Employing a novel experimental design strategy, four constructs from each animal were mechanically stimulated (one 1 Hz cycle every 5 rain to 2.4% peak strain for 8 h/day for 2 weeks) while the other four remained unstretched during the 2 week culture period. At the end of incubation, three of the mechanically stimulated (S) and three of the nonstimulated (NS) constructs from each animal were assigned for in vitro mechanical testing while the other two autogenous constructs were implanted into bilateral full-thickness, full-length defects' created in the central third of rabbit patellar tendons (PTs). No significant differences were found in the in vitro linear stiffnesses between the S (0.15 [+ or -] 0.1 N/mm) and NS constructs (0.08 [+ or -] 0.02 N/mm; mean [+ or -] SD). However, in vitro mechanical stimulation significantly increased the structural and material properties of the repair tissue, including a 14% increase in maximum force (p =0.01), a 50% increase in linear stiffness (p=0.001), and 23-41% increases in maximum stress and modulus (p=0.01). The S repairs achieved 65%, 80%, 60%, and 40% of normal central PT maximum force, linear stiffness, maximum stress, and linear modulus, respectively. The results for the S constructs exceed values obtained previously by our group using the same animal and defect model, and to our knowledge, this is the first study to show the benefits of in vitro mechanical stimulation on tendon repair biomechanics. In addition, the linear stiffnesses for the construct and repair were positively correlated (r=0.56) as were their linear moduli (r=0.68). Such in vitro predictors of in vivo outcome hold the potential to speed the development of tissue engineered products by reducing the time and costs of in vivo studies. [DOI: 10.1115/1.2800769]

OBJECTIVE To compare noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurements with invasive blood pressure (IBP) measurements of arterial blood pressure (ABP) in anesthetized dogs as obtained with a veterinary-specific multiparameter monitor. ANIMALS 21 client-owned healthy female dogs anesthetized for routine ovariohysterectomy. PROCEDURES ABP measurements were obtained with a single veterinary-specific multiparameter monitor via a pneumatic cuff placed over the medial dorsal metatarsal artery (NIBP) and a transducer connected to a catheter placed in the contralateral artery (IBP). The 224 paired ABP measurements (complete data set) were categorized into 3 subsets-- hypotension, normotension, and hypertension-- on the basis of invasive measurements of mean arterial blood pressure (MAP). The NIBP and IBP measurements of systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure (SAP and DAP, respectively) and MAP were compared. RESULTS NIBP measurements were frequently lower than IBP measurements. The greatest underestimation was fo r the hypertension subset of NIBP measurements, with biases fo r SAP of 15.7 mm Hg, DAP of 14.1 mm Hg, and MAP of 12.0 mm Hg. Considering the complete data set, precision was acceptable (SD of the differences between paired measurements < 15 mm Hg for DAP [9.0 mm Hg] and MAP [12.1 mm Hg]); however, precision was not acceptable fo r SAP (SD, 18.6 mm Hg). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE NIBP measurements with the studied veterinary-specific multiparameter monitor generally agreed with IBP measurements during hypotensive and normotensive periods fo r anesthetized healthy female dogs undergoing routine ovariohysterectomy. However, inaccuracies, frequently underestimations, were observed during periods of hypertension, and therefore, NIBP measurements should be interpreted cautiously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]