Successful Medical Management of an Acute Traumatic Sternal Luxation in a Cat.

A 5 yr old indoor-outdoor domestic longhair red tabby cat presented for evaluation of a 1-day history of hiding, urinating and defecating outside the litterbox, and vocalizing when picked up. Physical examination revealed significant pain on palpation of the caudal sternum where an approximately 8 × 6 cm contusion was noted. Sedated thoracic radiographs revealed a luxated fifth intersternebral joint with the sixth sternebra being cranioventrally displaced (along with the seventh and eight sternebrae) to the level of the mid fourth sternebra. There were sharply marginated, short oblique fractures of the distal sixth costal cartilages bilaterally with mild dorsal displacement of the distal segment. The sternal luxation was palpated more aggressively once the patient was sedated and deemed to be stable. Because of the stability of the luxation and absence of sternebral fractures, conservative medical management in the form of analgesics and rest was instituted. Repeat thoracic radiographs 2 wk after presentation revealed an unchanged sternal luxation. Twelve months after presentation, the patient presented for an unrelated lameness and, in that timeframe, has exhibited no sequelae to the sternal luxation, which still palpates stable and is radiographically unchanged.

What Is Your Diagnosis?

In collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Radiology.

Measuring veterinary client preferences for autonomy and information when making medical decisions for their pets.

OBJECTIVE: To adapt the 3 scales of the Autonomy Preference Index to veterinary medicine and validate the 3 new scales to measure pet owner preferences for autonomy and information when making medical decisions for their pets. SAMPLE: 10 small-animal veterinarians and 10 small-animal clients at a veterinary school-based community practice (pilot study) and 311 small-animal clients of the practice (validation study), of which 47 participated in a follow-up survey. PROCEDURES: Wording of items in the Autonomy Preference Index was adapted, and instrument wording was finalized on the basis of feedback obtained in the pilot study to create 3 scales: the Veterinary General Decision-Making Preferences Scale (VGDMPS), Veterinary Clinical Decision-Making Preferences Scale (VCDMPS), and Veterinary Information-Seeking Preferences Scale (VISPS). The 3 scales were then validated by means of administering them to small-animal clients in a clinical setting. RESULTS: The 3 scales had acceptable reliability and validity, but clients expressed concern over item wording in the VGDMPS during the pilot study. Overall, results showed that clients had a very high preference for information (mean ± SD VISPS score, 4.78 ± 0.36 on a scale from 1 to 5). Preferences for autonomy varied, but mean values reflected a low-to-moderate desire for autonomy in clinical decision-making (mean ± SD VCDMPS score, 2.04 ± 0.62 on a scale from 1 to 5). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The VCDMPS was a reliable and valid instrument for measuring client preferences for autonomy in clinical decision-making. Veterinarians could potentially use this instrument to better understand pet owner preferences and tailor their communication approach accordingly.

2019 AAHA Canine Life Stage Guidelines.

The guidelines are an update and extension of the AAHA Canine Life Stage Guidelines published in 2012. A noteworthy change from the earlier guidelines is the division of the dog's lifespan into five stages (puppy, young adult, mature adult, senior, and end of life) instead of the previous six. This simplified grouping is consistent with how pet owners generally perceive their dog's maturation and aging process and provides a readily understood basis for an evolving, lifelong healthcare strategy. The guidelines provide the following recommendations for managing 10 health-related factors at each of the first four canine life stages: lifestyle effect on the patient's safety, zoonotic and human safety risk, behavior, nutrition, parasite control, vaccination, dental health, reproduction, breed-specific conditions, and a baseline diagnostic profile.

Biomechanical and molecular characteristics of hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia in Quarter Horses.

Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) is an autosomal recessive skin disorder that has yet to be fully characterized. HERDA is predominately expressed in Quarter Horses, with the majority of these disseminating from elite cutting horse bloodlines, leading to the increased incidence of HERDA in recent years. Affected horses have loose, hyper-extensible, fragile skin and are frequently euthanized due to poor wound healing and disfiguring scars. This study sought to better characterize HERDA by analysis of the biomechanical parameters of tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, energy to failure and thickness of skin from 10 affected and 6 unaffected horses using an Instron Universal Testing Instrument. In addition, total soluble collagen and glycosaminoglycan concentrations of skin were analysed from 13 affected and 12 unaffected horses using Sircol Soluble Collagen and Blyscan Sulfated Glycosaminoglycan assays respectively. Affected horses exhibited a two to threefold reduction in tensile strength versus unaffected horses with statistically significant differences at six of seven sample locations (P < or = 0.05). The modulus of elasticity proved to be significantly different at six of seven sample locations, energy to failure at six of seven sample locations, and skin thickness at one of seven sample locations (P < or = 0.05). Affected horses exhibited significantly higher amounts of total soluble collagen than unaffected horses (P < or = 0.05). No significant difference was demonstrated between groups for glycosaminoglycan concentration. Affected horses demonstrated uniformly weaker skin across sample locations, indicating the biomechanical properties of HERDA are not regionally confined to specific areas of the horses' skin.