Objectives -To review the principles and available technology for pretransfusion testing in veterinary medicine and discuss the indications and importance of test performance before RBC transfusion. Data Sources -Current human and veterinary medical literature: original research articles and scientific reviews. Summary -Indications for RBC transfusion in veterinary medicine include severe anemia or tissue hypoxia resulting from blood loss, decreased erythrocyte production, and hemolyzing conditions such as immunemediated anemia and neonatal isoerythrolysis. Proper blood sample collection, handling, and identification are imperative for high-quality pretransfusion testing. Point-of-care blood typing methods including both typing cards and rapid gel agglutination are readily available for some species. Following blood typing, crossmatching is performed on one or more donor units of appropriate blood type. As an alternative to technically demanding tube crossmatching methods, a point-of-care gel agglutination method has recently become available for use in dogs and cats. Crossmatching reduces the risk of hemolytic transfusion reactions but does not completely eliminate the risk of other types of transfusion reactions in veterinary patients, and for this reason, all transfusion reactions should be appropriately documented and investigated. Conclusion -The administration of blood products is a resource-intensive function of veterinary medicine and optimizing patient safety in transfusion medicine is multifaceted. Adverse reactions can be life threatening. Appropriate donor screening and collection combined with pretransfusion testing decreases the occurrence of incompatible transfusion reactions.

Effusion is the abnormal accumulation of fluid within a body cavity that can result from a variety of disease processes. This article reviews the normal production and resorption of body cavity fluid and the pathophysiology of abnormal fluid accumulation. In addition, classification schemes, differential diagnoses, and currently available diagnostic tests for evaluation of effusions are reviewed.

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This is the first published report describing A phagocytophilum morulae in neutrophils of naturally infected North American cats with infection confirmed by PCR. A phagocytophilum infection should be considered in cats evaluated for lethargy, anorexia and fever living in Ixodes species endemic areas.

A novel series of erythromycin derivatives has been discovered with potent activity against key respiratory pathogens, including those resistant to erythromycin. These compounds are characterized by having an aryl group tethered to the C-6 position of the erythronolide skeleton. Extensive structural modification of the C-6 moiety led to the discovery of several promising compounds with potent activity against both mef- and erm-mediated resistant Streptoccoccus pneumoniae. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicated that the new macrolides are potent protein synthesis inhibitors, which interact with methylated ribosomes isolated from resistant organisms. In experimental animal models, these compounds exhibited excellent in vivo efficacy and balanced pharmacokinetic profiles.