Objective To compare accuracy and ease of use of a card agglutination assay, an immunochromatographic cartridge method, and a gel-based method for canine blood typing. Sample Blood samples from 52 healthy blood donor dogs, 10 dogs with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA), and 29 dogs with other diseases. Procedures Blood samples were tested in accordance with manufacturer guidelines. Samples with low PCVs were created by the addition of autologous plasma to separately assess the effects of anemia on test results. Results Compared with a composite reference standard of agreement between 2 methods, the gel-based method was found to be 100% accurate. The card agglutination assay was 89% to 91% accurate, depending on test interpretation, and the immunochromatographic cartridge method was 93% accurate but 100% specific. Errors were observed more frequently in samples from diseased dogs, particularly those with IMHA. In the presence of persistent autoagglutination, dog erythrocyte antigen (DEA) 1.1 typing was not possible, except with the immunochromatographic cartridge method. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance The card agglutination assay and immunochromatographic cartridge method, performed by trained personnel, were suitable for in-clinic emergency DEA 1.1 blood typing. There may be errors, particularly for samples from dogs with IMHA, and the immunochromatographic cartridge method may have an advantage of allowing typing of samples with persistent autoagglutination. The laboratory gel-based method would be preferred for routine DEA 1.1 typing of donors and patients if it is available and time permits. Current DEA 1.1 typing techniques appear to be appropriately standardized and easy to use.

Objective To compare the ease of use and accuracy of 5 feline AB blood-typing methods: card agglutination (CARD), immunochromatographic cartridge (CHROM), gel-based (GEL), and conventional slide (SLIDE) and tube (TUBE) agglutination assays. Sample Population 490 anticoagulated blood samples from sick and healthy cats submitted to the Transfusion or Clinical Laboratory at the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Procedures Sample selection was purposely biased toward those from anemic, type B, or type AB cats or those with autoagglutination. All blood samples were tested by use of GEL, SLIDE, and TUBE methods. Fifty-eight samples were also tested by use of CARD and CHROM methods. The presence of alloantibodies in all cats expressing the B antigen as detected by use of any method was also assessed. Results Compared with the historical gold-standard TUBE method, good to excellent agreement was achieved with the other typing tests: CARD, 53 of 58 (91% agreement); CHROM, 55 of 58 (95%); GEL, 487 of 490 (99%); and SLIDE, 482 of 487 (99%; 3 samples were excluded because of autoagglutination). Four of the samples with discordant test results originated from cats with FeLV-related anemia. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance Current laboratory and in-clinic methods provide simple and accurate typing for the feline AB blood group system with few discrepancies. Retyping after in-clinic typing with the GEL or TUBE laboratory methods is recommended to confirm any type B or AB cats.

Clinical response after 1 cycle of COP-based chemotherapy was predictive for progression-free survival time and overall survival time in cats with lymphoma; therefore, response after 1 cycle of chemotherapy could be used to guide decisions about further treatment. No new prognostic factors were identified.

Background: Diagnosis of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is problematic because of large variations in ACTH concentrations. Hypothesis/Objectives: Compare the test characteristics of baseline and post-thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation plasma ACTH concentrations in horses using diagnostic cutoff values (DCOVs) and reference intervals (RIs) and determine the clinical consequences of using each method. Animals: One hundred six mature horses: 72 control cases and 34 PPID cases. Methods: Prospective case-controlled study. Horses underwent monthly TRH stimulation tests. Diagnostic cutoff values were determined monthly by receiver operating characteristic curves using the Youden index. Reference intervals were determined monthly by a robust method. For each case age, sex and body condition score (BCS) were recorded. Results: Baseline ACTH concentrations varied by month (P < .001) with significant "month × age" (P = .003), "month × sex" (P = .003), and "month × BCS" (P = .007) effects. Baseline ACTH concentrations were accurate to diagnose PPID (0.91 ± 0.06) with DCOVs increasing the test sensitivity (0.61 ± 0.21 to 0.87 ± 0.05, P = .002) and RI increasing test specificity (0.85 ± 0.12 to 0.98 ± 0.01, P = .01). Thyrotropinreleasing hormone stimulation improved test accuracy (0.91 ± 0.06 to 0.97 ± 0.03, P = .004). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: ACTH concentrations follow a circannual rhythm and vary with physiological factors. As using DCOVs increases the ability to detect mild cases and using RI decreases the risk of unnecessary treatments, ACTH concentrations should be interpreted within a specific clinical context. The TRH stimulation test improves the diagnosis of PPID.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether meeting historical criteria for unsuspected Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE), largely under-diagnosed in vivo, explains why some alcoholics have severe neuropsychological deficits, whereas others, with a similar drinking history, exhibit preserved performance. Demographic, clinical, alcohol related, and neuropsychological measures were collected in 56 abstinent alcoholics and 38 non-alcohol-dependent volunteers. Alcoholics were classified using the clinical criteria established by Caine et al (1997) and validated in their neuropathological study of alcoholic cases. Our alcoholics who met a single criterion were considered 'at risk for WE' and those with two or more criteria with 'signs of WE'. Whole blood thiamine was also measured in 22 of the comparison group and 28 alcoholics. Of the alcoholics examined, 27% met no criteria, 57% were at risk for WE, and 16% had signs of WE. Neuropsychological performance of the alcoholic subgroups was graded, with those meeting zero criteria not differing from controls, those meeting one criterion presenting mild-to-moderate deficits on some of the functional domains, and those meeting two or more criteria having the most severe deficits on each of the domains examined. Thiamine levels were selectively related to memory performance in the alcoholics. Preclinical signs of WE can be diagnosed in vivo, enabling the identification of ostensibly 'uncomplicated' alcoholics who are at risk for neuropsychological complications. The graded effects in neuropsychological performance suggest that the presence of signs of WE explains, at least partially, the heterogeneity of alcoholism-related cognitive and motor deficits.

Background: Blood samples banked for up to 1 month are typically used to perform pretransfusion testing in humans and small animals, but this has not been validated using blood from horses.Hypothesis: Compatibility of equine blood samples is repeatable using fresh samples, and reproducible using donor blood samples stored for up to 4 weeks.Animals: Six healthy adult horses. Methods: Randomized, blinded experimental study. Immunologic compatibility of the blood of all horses was assessed using a major and minor saline agglutination and hemolysin crossmatch using blood samples refrigerated for 0-4 weeks and fresh blood from the same horses. Crossmatch results were scored and then compared to identify changes of compatibility in each of the 4 tests. In addition, repeatability of the crossmatch technique itself was assessed by performing 6 iterations of this procedure in immediate succession with fresh blood from 3 horses.Results: No significant difference in crossmatch results was found using fresh blood (P = .39-1.00). Reproducibility was poor using blood stored for 1-4 weeks, especially in tests using stored erythrocytes (major antigen crossmatches), with significant differences from baseline at all weeks (P < .05); 13 of these differences were positive, indicating poorer compatibility.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Equine blood crossmatching is repeatable using fresh blood, although decreased apparent compatibility after storage makes exclusion of compatible donors more likely than mistaken administration of incompatible blood. These data suggest that fresh samples should be collected from potential donors before crossmatching equine blood.

Apheresis was able to concentrate mononuclear cells and reduce RBC contamination. However, the apheresis product was unable to adhere to the tissue culture plates. In matched horses, adipose- and BM-derived MSCs were capable of producing lipids, glycosaminoglycan, and mineral. The BM was vastly superior to adipose tissue as a source of MSCs with osteoblastogenic potential in matched horses. Additional studies will be necessary to optimize apheresis techniques for horses before peripheral blood can be considered a suitable source for multipotential cells for use in cell-based treatments.

A 3-year-old, castrated male, soft-coated Wheaten Terrier was presented for evaluation of mild lameness, fecal incontinence, lumbosacral pain, and lack of anal tone. Magnetic resonance imaging scan showed a large (8 x 6 x 5 cm) mass invading and expanding the pelvic bones, sacrum, and associated structures. A fine-needle aspirate of the mass contained many neoplastic cells with high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratios and rare spindle and inflammatory cells. The neoplastic cells were 12-16 mum in diameter, round to cuboidal, basaloid in appearance, and arranged both individually and in loosely cohesive clusters with variably distinct cell borders. Given the location, signalment, and cytologic findings, differential interpretations included a primitive embryonal tumor (eg, neuroblastoma or nephroblastoma in an atypical location) or poorly differentiated carcinoma. The owner elected euthanasia due to the poor prognosis. Abnormal gross findings on necropsy included the pelvic mass and multiple firm, pale, pink-tan nodules in the lung, which proved to be metastases. On histologic examination, the mass and nodules were composed of irregular islands, lobules, and nests of basaloid cells, which transitioned abruptly into large lakes of "ghost" cells with areas of ossification and calcification, consistent with a diagnosis of malignant pilomatricoma. This unusual presentation of a pilomatricoma adds to our knowledge of expected cytologic findings for this tumor.