Results suggest that younger dogs with tetanus may be more likely to develop severe clinical signs. The prognosis for survival in dogs with tetanus is good if abnormalities in heart rate or blood pressure values do not develop.

Results suggested that in cats, intussusception has a bimodal age distribution, is most commonly jejuno-jejunal, often requires surgical resection and anastomosis, is often associated with alimentary lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease in older cats, and is readily diagnosed by means of ultrasonography.

Delta-cortisol < or = 3 microg/dL after adrenocorticotropic hormone administration is associated with systemic hypotension and decreased survival in septic dogs.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of an activated charcoal (AC) suspension containing propylene glycol and glycerol on serum osmolality, osmolal gap, and lactate concentration in dogs. Six healthy adult dogs were administered 4 g/kg AC in a commercially available suspension that contained propylene glycol and glycerol as vehicles. Blood samples were taken before and 1, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 hours after the administration of the test suspension. Samples were analyzed for osmolality, blood gases, and concentrations of lactate, sodium, potassium, serum urea nitrogen, and glucose. Osmolal gaps were calculated for each time point. Mean serum osmolality, osmolal gap, and lactate concentration were significantly increased after suspension administration compared to baseline. Serum osmolality increased from 311 mOsm/kg at baseline to 353 mOsm/kg, osmolal gap increased from 5 to 52 mOsm/kg, and lactate concentration increased from 1.9 to 4.5 mmol/L after suspension administration (all P < .01). Three of the 6 dogs vomited between 1 and 3 hours after the administration of the test suspension, and 4 of 6 dogs were lethargic. All dogs drank frequently after AC administration. Commercial AC suspension administered at a clinically relevant dose increases serum osmolality, osmolal gap, and lactate concentration in dogs. These laboratory measures and the clinical signs of vomiting, lethargy, and increased frequency of drinking might complicate the diagnosis or monitoring of some intoxications (such as ethylene glycol) in dogs that have previously received AC suspension containing propylene glycol, glycerol, or both as vehicles.

Hypoventilation with tetraparesis in traumatic spinal cord injury can be successfully treated with PPV exceeding 30 days, surgery, and physical therapy.

This case is the first published report of hydrocortisone-responsive hypotension and transient CIRCI associated with naturally occurring septic shock in a dog.

Ileocolitis associated with spiral bacteria identified as an Anaerobiospirillum sp. was found in six cats. Two cats had acute onset of gastrointestinal signs characterized by vomiting and diarrhea in one cat and vomiting in another cat, one cat had chronic diarrhea that was refractory to medical therapy; one cat had acute onset of anorexia and lethargy, and two cats had clinical signs that were not related to the gastrointestinal tract. The presence of an Anaerobiospirillum sp. was demonstrated on the basis of ultrastructural morphology of spiral bacteria associated with intestinal lesions and PCR amplification of a genus-specific 16S rRNA gene from affected tissues from each cat. The colons of three clinically healthy cats without lesions and one cat with mild colitis not associated with spiral bacteria were negative for Anaerobiospirillum spp. in the same assay. Comparative nucleotide sequence analysis of cloned PCR products from three affected cats further suggested that the spiral bacteria were closely related to Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens.Anaerobiospirillum is a genus of small, spiral gram-negative motile bacteria that have been isolated from the throat and feces of healthy dogs and cats (2, 10, 13), and diarrheal feces (12, 16) and blood (11,18,23,27) of humans. The genus Anaerobiospirillum comprises two species, A. succiniciproducens and A. thomasii, but only A. succiniciproducens has been associated with septicemia in humans (10). Bacteremia in humans appears to be found almost exclusively in subjects with underlying disease, and immunosuppression is a risk factor (15). There is only one report of bloody diarrhea in a puppy from which an Anaerobiospirillum species was isolated in combination with other species of spiral bacteria (16).In this report, we describe six cats that had either ileitis, ileocolitis, or colitis associated with the presence of spiral bacteria. Three cats were presented with gastrointestinal signs characterized by vomiting or diarrhea, one cat was presented with an acute onset of anorexia and lethargy, and two cats had no clinical or systemic signs related to the gastrointestinal tract. In all cases, spiral bacteria identified as an Anaerobiospirillum species based on morphological and gene-specific PCR assays were associated with intestinal lesions. Comparative sequence analysis of partial 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained from intestinal tissues from three of the affected cats revealed Anaerobiospirillum spp. related to but different from the previously cultured canine reference A. succiniciproducens strain. This is the first pathology description of Anaerobiospirillum ileocolitis in any host. CASE REPORTSCase 1. A 14-year-old male neutered domestic shorthair cat was presented to the emergency service at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) for acute onset of vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy (Table 1). Physical examination revealed marked hypothermia, bradycardia, and hypotension. Painful, thickened intestinal loops were palpated, and hematochezia was noticed ...

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