Background: Aortic stenosis refers to several types of anatomic and functional obstructions of the left ventricular outflow tract. In small animals, this anomaly is most commonly documented as either a congenital lesion or an obstruction that develops soon after birth. It is a hereditary disease, caused by a dominant autosomal gene and modifying genes that interfere with phenotype expression. Even though aortic thromboembolism may be a potential complication in cats with cardiac diseases, aortic stenosis is deemed rare in that species. In this paper, we report an unusual case of a Persian kitten with aortic stenosis that eventually developed arterial thromboembolism.Case: A 7-month-old Persian kitten (3.1 kg) was admitted to a Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a history of hindlimbs paralysis over the past 48 h, as well as excessive vocalization. Also, the cat presented with inappetence, adipsia, urine incontinence, and hematuria. On physical examination, we observed hypothermia and cold paws. The footpads were cyanotic and there were no palpable femoral pulses. Cardiac auscultation disclosed a regular fast pace (200 bpm) and a grade 2/6 murmur heard best over the left cardiac base, but irradiating to the contralateral hemithorax. Prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were within the normal reference range, but the complete blood count showed microcytosis, lymphopenia, and hyperproteinemia. Also, elevated alanine aminotransferase and BUN were identified. On the echocardiogram, we observed a subvalvular aortic stenosis, which resulted in concentric remodeling of the left ventricle and a mild left atrial dilation. The stenotic lesion was classified as mild. Also, the thoracic radiography unveiledcardiomegaly. The recommended therapy included atenolol (6.25 mg/cat PO, q24h), clopidogrel (18.7 mg/cat PO, q24h), enoxaparin (1 mg/kg SC, q24 h), methadone (0.2 mg/kg IM, q8h) and amoxicillin + potassium clavulanate (20 mg/kg SC, q12h). Additional recommendations included physical therapy on the hindlimbs as well as monitoring heart rate and blood pressure every two hours in the first day, and every six hours thereafter during hospitalization. Seven days later, the cat was depressed, extremely lethargic, and did not respond to therapy at all. Also, necrosis was documented on the hindlimb paws. Therefore, in face of the unfavorable prognosis, the owners opted for euthanasia.Discussion: Cats with cardiomyopathy have an increased risk for developing arterial thromboembolism. The dilated left atrium causes blood stasis and, because of the augmented sensitivity of platelets to serotonin, they aggregate and increase the likelihood of thrombi formation. While some thrombi remain within the heart, usually in the left atrial appendage, others may dislodge and follow blood flow to the aortic trifurcation down in the abdomen. That obstruction impairs blood flow to its tributaries such as the iliac and femoral arteries, which are involved with the hind limbs perfusion. Cats with severe stenotic lesions usually carry a bad prognosis, contrasting with our patient in which only a mild stenosis was documented.However, having developed aortic thromboembolism absolutely changed the prognosis for this cat. Although aortic stenosis is an uncommon condition in cats, its occurrence should be considered as differential diagnosis whenever young patients are admitted with a cardiac murmur. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the patient will need periodical re-evaluations due to the possibility of complications such as arterial thromboembolism. This condition carries a bad prognosis. In this case, it was responsible for the decline in clinical condition which eventually was crucial for the owner opting to euthanize the cat.Keywords: congenital heart disease, echocardiography, valve dysplasia, ischemia.
Rangeliosis, caused by Rangelia vitalii, is known to causes apathy, intermittent fever, ear’s margin bleeding and anemia. Herein, we report the first molecular detection of R. vitalii infecting a dog from the Curitiba metropolitan region, Paraná State, southern Brazil. A four-year-old male mixed-breed neighborhood dog, presenting apathy, weight loss, and ear’s margin bleeding, was referred for clinical care at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the Universidade Federal do Paraná. Sequencing of the piroplasm positive sample showed ≥99% identity with R. vitalii 18S rDNA sequence deposited in GenBank. Further studies are needed to elucidate the pathogenicity, competence vector of ticks and epidemiology of this protozoa the State of Paraná.
RESUMO. Na Medicina Veterinária o uso de métodos alternativos tem sido explorado com intuito de substituir a utilização de animais como recurso didático. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a opinião dos estudantes em relação ao uso de um modelo de baixo custo para treinamento de ovariosalpingohisterectomia em pequenos animais antes da realização no animal in vivo. Foram envolvidos 21 estudantes da graduação da disciplina de Técnica Cirúrgica Veterinária, que realizaram o treinamento no modelo, antes de realizar a cirurgia no animal e depois responderam um questionário a respeito do uso do modelo, incluindo organização da equipe, segurança emocional e treinamento da técnica. A maioria dos estudantes (95,2%) consideraram que o treinamento melhorou o fluxo de tarefas, 85,7%sentiram-se mais seguros em realizar a cirurgia no animal vivo após o treinamento com o modelo e 76,2% consideraram que o treinamento acarretou melhora na habilidade cirúrgica para realização da cirurgia. Também houve redução em 23,2% (32 minutos) no tempo cirúrgico no animal vivo, comparado à turma do ano anterior sem treinamento no modelo. A utilização do modelo teve resultados positivos, pois além de ser bem aceita pelos estudantes, trouxe maior confiança e habilidade técnica durante a cirurgia, diminuindo o tempo de procedimento. Palavras chave: cão, cirurgia veterinária, ensino, gato, métodos alternativosPerception of students about a low cost model for training ovariosalpingohisterectomy in small animals ABSTRACT.In Veterinary Education, non-harmful alternatives methods have been explored in order to replace the use of animals as a teaching resource. The objective of this study was to analyze the students' opinion regarding the use of a low cost model for training ovariaosalpingohisterectomy in small animals before in vivo performance. There were 21 veterinary medicine students from a Veterinary Surgical Teaching class enrolled in the study. They underwent training in the model before performing the surgery on the animal and then answered a questionnaire regarding the use of the model, including team organization, emotional safety and technique training. Among the students, 95.2% considered that the training improved the flow of tasks, 85.7% felt safer in performing the surgery on the live animal after training with the model and 76.2% considered that the training resulted in an improvement in the surgical ability to perform the surgery. There was also a 23.2% decrease (32 minutes) in surgical time in the live animal, compared to the previous year's group without training in the model. The use of the model had positive
Background:The pathogenic leptospira infection in mammalian species can cause a range of acute or chronic manifestations and may result in a carrier state. Previous studies have suggested that cats were resistant to acute leptospirosis however, the description of some clinical cases suggests that Leptospira spp. may also be pathogenic to this species. Recent studies have shown that leptospires may be shed in the urine of infected cats. Endogenous substances present in urine may inhibit PCR and allow leptospires to evade detection. This study aims to compare three protocols for sample processing to optimize the detection of pathogenic leptospires in cat urine. Materials, Methods & Results:Three protocols to optimize the detection of pathogenic leptospires in cat urine were tested. Aliquots of standard concentration of L. interrogans serovar Canicola culture were added to urine samples to achieve concentrations of 1×10 5 to 1×10 2 leptospires/mL for each protocol. In protocols A and B the urine was neutralized by the addition of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), pH 7.4, in a proportion of 1 PBS: 2.5 urine (v/v). In protocol A, PBS was added to neutralize the urine pH for the leptospiral organisms immediately after addition of leptospires. In protocol B, PBS was added just before DNA extraction. In protocol C, no PBS was added. DNA extraction was performed at 4, 24 and 48 h after addition of the leptospires using a modified protocol. Samples were incubated at 37ºC for 10 min. Samples were then centrifuged (850 g) for 15 min, at 25ºC. The supernatants were transferred to another tube, and the pellets were discarded. The supernatants were centrifuged (16060 g) for 20 min at 4ºC. The supernatants were then discarded, and the pellets resuspended and washed with 1000 µL of PBS. All the samples were centrifuged at 16060 g for an additional 20 min at 25ºC. The supernatants were discarded and the pellets were resuspended in 100 µL of PBS and incubated at 94ºC for 10 min. DNA was stored at -20ºC until the molecular analysis. The PCR detection limit was evaluated. In samples from protocol A, leptospires were detected in concentrations up to 1×10 3 (4 h) and 1×10 4 (24 and 48 h). In protocol C, leptospires were detected in concentrations up to 1×10 4 (4 h) and 1×10 5 (24 and 48 h). No leptospiral DNA was detected in samples from protocol B. Discussion: Leptospires are sensitive to acid conditions, at pH 6.8 or lower and the urine pH of cats may vary from 5 to 7. In the present study, we found best results for DNA amplification with the addition of PBS immediately after urine collection (protocol A). Previous studies have shown the importance of neutralizing urine samples immediately after collection to avoid loss of bacterial DNA during the extraction process. However, protocols B and C may be an alternative in clinical practice, when PBS cannot be added immediately after collection. The delay after urine collection before DNA extraction is one more factor that may interfere with the PCR sensitivity. This was observed in the sa...
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.