BackgroundThis paper presents an overview of the global controversies surrounding cosmetic tail docking in puppies, some observed inconsistent practices among dog breeders and Veterinarians in West Africa, and the need for the African Veterinary Profession to take a decisive position on the cosmetic docking procedure.Case presentationAn interesting report of observed complications associated with cosmetic tail docking in a 3 week old male Boerboel is reported alongside the management of the ensuing complications.ConclusionThis paper highlights the still prevalent practice of cosmetic tail docking and seeks to enlighten clinicians towards stemming its abuse in Africa.
A skeletal muscle tumour (rhabdomysarcoma) was diagnosed in a 4-year-old captive female terrestrial tortoise (Geochelone nigra) weighing 7 kg presented at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. The tumour was located at the anterior right portion of the body and ventral to the carapace. The location of the tumour prevented the tortoise from extending its head from the body. The tumour was a sessile, smooth white mass, with a soft myxomatous consistency. The histological features that were diagnostic of rhabdomyosarcoma included a sparse population of haphazardly arranged spindle-shaped cells within a homogenous matrix (anisocytosis), occasional tumour giant and binucleate cells, and some well differentiated myofibrils with cross striations within the cytoplasm. The paucity of information on tumours in the land tortoise was the reason for this report, which appears to be the first report of rhabdomyosarcoma in the tortoise.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of sedation and analgesia produced by xylazine alone and in combination with tramadol or pentazocine in goats. Four male adult West African goats weighing 8.5 ± 0.2 kg (Means ± Standard Deviation) were sedated with each of three treatments in a randomized cross over design at one week interval between treatments. Treatments were Xylazine (0.1mg/kg) with normal saline (XYL-SAL); with tramadol (3mg/kg, XYL-TRA) and with pentazocine (2 mg/kg, XYL-PEN). Sedation scores, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and rectal temperature (RT) were obtained before drug administration and subsequently at ten -minute intervals. Onset of sedation were 7.5 ± 0.7 min, 5.8± 1.3 min and 6.3 ± 1.7 min with the XYL—SAL, XYL-TRA and XYL-PEN treatments respectively. Duration of sedation was forty minutes with XYL-SAL and XYL-TRA and 50 minutes with XYL-PEN. Peak sedation occurred between thirty and forty minutes with the three treatments. At peak effect, sedation was mild with XYL-SAL, mild to moderate with XYL-TRA and intense with XYL-PEN but without analgesia. Heart and respiratory rates fell significantly from baseline values by 10 minutes post drug administration in the goats with the three treatments while rectal temperature remained unchanged. Side effects observed was drooling by all the goats with XYL-PEN and one goat with XYL-TRA. One goat had paraphimosis with XYL-TRA. It was concluded that addition of pentazocine to xylazine in goats enhanced sedation although without analgesia and provided better sedation quality than addition of tramadol.
Nigerian veterinarians' attitude and responses to pain management predominantly in small animals were evaluated using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered to representatives of seventy small/large animal clinics and hospitals distributed across ten states of the country. The respondents possess the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) (58.6%), Master of Veterinary Science MVSc (32.9%) degrees, fellowship diplomas (5.7%) and PhD (2.9%) degree. Majority of the respondents (92.9%) had less than 20 years of post DVM clinical experience. Seventy-nine percent (79%) had good understanding of animal pain perception while 43% still hold the misconception that some degree of pain is beneficial to an animal after surgery. Pain rating excellently assigned to fracture reduction by 83% of practitioners, but inappropriately assigned by 66% of practitioners to caesarean section, 66% to laparotomy, 63% to ovariohysterectomy, 60% to mastectomy and 60% to dental procedures. Xylazine, lignocaine and ketamine were anaesthetic/analgesics commonly used. Respondents (98%) recognized pain based on animal's response to painful body part palpation, attitude of animal (97%), history by care giver (80%) and inappetence (73%). Determinants of analgesic drug choice for dogs/cats were: analgesic efficacy (99/29%); potential for toxicity (95/38%); availability (93/43%), side effect (86/42%), cost (82/37%), availability of information on the drug (76/36%), and ability of analgesic drug to cause sedation in the animal (65/33%). Respondents sourced information for analgesic therapeutics from: literature (73%), internet (80%), and drug leaflet (98%). In conclusion, most veterinarians surveyed had understanding of animal pain perception and use anaesthetic protocols that provide analgesia. Nonetheless, some of them still hold on to the misconception that minimal pain perception is beneficial to the patient at the post-operative period which may have influenced their non-provision of additional analgesia post-operatively.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.