Fetal distress and in utero pneumonia in perinatal dolphins during the Northern Gulf of Mexico unusual mortality event.

An unusual mortality event (UME) involving primarily common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus of all size classes stranding along coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, USA, started in early 2010 and continued into 2014. During this northern Gulf of Mexico UME, a distinct cluster of perinatal dolphins (total body length <115 cm) stranded in Mississippi and Alabama during 2011. The proportion of annual dolphin strandings that were perinates between 2009 and 2013 were compared to baseline strandings (2000-2005). A case-reference study was conducted to compare demographics, histologic lesions, and Brucella sp. infection prevalence in 69 UME perinatal dolphins to findings from 26 reference perinates stranded in South Carolina and Florida outside of the UME area. Compared to reference perinates, UME perinates were more likely to have died in utero or very soon after birth (presence of atelectasis in 88 vs. 15%, p < 0.0001), have fetal distress (87 vs. 27%, p < 0.0001), and have pneumonia not associated with lungworm infection (65 vs. 19%, p = 0.0001). The percentage of perinates with Brucella sp. infections identified via lung PCR was higher among UME perinates stranding in Mississippi and Alabama compared to reference perinates (61 vs. 24%, p = 0.01), and multiple different Brucella omp genetic sequences were identified in UME perinates. These results support that from 2011 to 2013, during the northern Gulf of Mexico UME, bottlenose dolphins were particularly susceptible to late-term pregnancy failures and development of in utero infections including brucellosis.

Diagnosis of canine fetal health by ultrasonography.

The detection of fetal pathology is important for the care of puppies in the postnatal period. The objective of this study was to identify parameters of fetal distress by determining fetal heart rate and bowel movements, and also to detect early pathology by means of fetal biometry, which involves determination of the biparietal and abdominal diameters. Ultrasonographic examinations were carried out on 30 pregnant bitches of different breeds and ages at least three times, including examination at days 40-47, days 48-57, and days 58-62 after coitus, and subsequently every 12-14 h for 3 days before parturition. Fetuses that had biparietal:abdominal diameter ratios of < 2 at the second and third series of ultrasonography, or after birth were considered to have intrauterine growth retardation. The average weight of each litter was calculated and puppies that weighed < 20% of the average weight were also considered to have experienced intrauterine growth retardation. Intrauterine growth retardation occurred in 39.6% of the bitches studied. Fetuses were considered to be normal when heart rate, determined by a Doppler flowmeter was > 220 beats min-1; suffering from slight fetal distress when heart rate was between 180 and 220 beats min-1; suffering from severe fetal distress when heart rate was < 180 beats min-1. Some level of distress was observed in 33.0% of puppies. In 86.7% of bitches, bowel movements were observed in at least one puppy, and appeared to be correlated with fetal distress. Bowel movements were observed in all of the puppies that had severe fetal distress (heart rate < 180 beats min-1), whereas bowel movements were observed in only 40.0% of puppies with slight fetal distress (heart rate 180-200 beats min-1). In conclusion, ultrasonographic evaluation allowed identification of fetuses with intrauterine growth retardation, and bowel movements were a reliable indicator of fetal distress; these conditions are presumed to indicate a greater perinatal risk.

Some effects of multiple administration of detomidine during the last trimester of equine pregnancy.

Detomidine was given to 11 pregnant mares at 3 week intervals during the last trimester of pregnancy. Maternal and fetal electrocardiographs were recorded and fetal activity studied by transabdominal ultrasonography, before and 2 h (2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min) after injection. After parturition, the foals were examined and weighed. Maternal and fetal heart rate showed an initial decline after detomidine administration. Maternal heart rate in the treatment group were lower already 2 min after injection, but a reduction in fetal heart was first seen 5 min after detomidine administration. Mean fetal heart rate at 2 min after detomidine injection was 109, 104, 95 and 90 beats/min, whereas at 5 min it was 80, 76, 72 and 66 beats/min in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th examination session, respectively. The heart rates did not revert to the control values during follow-up. Decline and recovery patterns were quite similar during all examination sessions. The mares exhibited conductive disturbances 2 min after detomidine administration, but fetal heart rhythm remained regular. Fetal activity was decreased at 5 min but had reverted to control values about 90 min after detomidine administration. Administration of detomidine (0.015 mg/kg) to healthy pregnant mares at 3 week intervals during the last trimester had no measurable detrimental effects on the outcome of pregnancy.

Continuous fetal heart rate monitoring and tocodynamometry in routine obstetrical care, fetal stress and non-stress testing, and labor induction in the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).

The use of continuous fetal heart rate (FHR) and uterine pressure monitoring in the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) by external Doppler transducer and tocodynamometer is described in 1) the routine obstetrical assessment of fetal well-being, 2) oxytocin challenge (stress) testing (OCT) and non-stress testing (NST) for the diagnosis of in utero fetal distress, and 3) induction of labor by intravenous oxytocin infusion, by surgical rupture of the chorio-amniotic membranes (amniotomy), or by a combination of these techniques, as an alternative to Caesarean section for clinical, managemental, or experimental purposes. FHR traces were analyzed during a total of 57 term pregnancies for three basic characteristics: baseline rate, variability, and periodic pattern. Results indicated that continuous FHR monitoring in the chimpanzee can provide a valuable tool for fetal assessment and management of labor in any attempt to reduce the unacceptably high annual incidence of perinatal and neonatal infant mortality reported in the U.S.