Objective radiographic assessment of abdominal sand accumulation in horses.

Gastrointestinal sand accumulation is a common cause of equine colic. Subjective assessment of sand accumulation on abdominal radiographs has been used as a diagnostic aid; however, there is poor correlation between clinical, diagnostic, and surgical findings. The purpose of this study was to develop an objective method of assessing radiographic sand accumulation in order to improve the diagnostic utility of radiography for sand colic. Fifty-one equine abdominal radiographic examinations were reviewed, with approximately half of the imaged patients having a clinical diagnosis of sand colic. Initially, four observers independently reviewed these radiographic studies to subjectively decide whether or not sand accumulation was sufficient to cause colic. Subsequently, an objective scoring system was developed using various radiographic parameters that yielded a score ranging from one to 12 for quantity and apparent density of sand accumulation. Inter- and intraobserver results using the subjective scoring method had significant differences among all observers. Subjective assessment was also deemed to be inaccurate for colic prediction. Using the objective scoring system, there were no significant differences between or within the observers' results. A score of seven out of 12 was found to have an 83% likelihood of being associated with a positive diagnosis of sand colic. The designed objective scoring method creates a more uniform and accurate method to assess the sand accumulation.

A retrospective study of the diagnoses and survival of elk admitted to a large animal referral clinic.

Information for veterinarians regarding diseases of farmed elk remains scarce despite an increase in the size of the industry. This retrospective study examines all (n=245) elk cases admitted to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine over an 11-year period (1991 to 2001). Age, gender, date of admission, diagnosis, and outcome were examined. Diarrhea, fractures, and other musculoskeletal problems were most common. Most (76%) cases involved elk under 1 y of age; these were more commonly diagnosed with fractures or diarrheal disease. Elk older than 1 y of age tended to be diagnosed with fractures or noninfectious diseases. Overall, the most common diagnosis was fractures, which were seen mostly as traumatic catastrophic long bone fractures. Fractures and other musculoskeletal problems occurred towards the end of summer and into the fall, while diarrhea and other infectious diseases were diagnosed in young elk in the spring and summer. The in-hospital case fatality rate was 33.5%.

Meningeal worm is a long-lived parasitic nematode in white-tailed deer.

A natural infection of the meningeal worm, Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, persisted for at least 3.7 yr in a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). The deer was 5-7 yr old and was shedding dorsal-spined nematode larvae at the time of quarantine. Larvae were extracted from all fecal samples collected up to 730 days post-quarantine (dpq) and thereafter only at 862 dpq and at necropsy (1,350 dpq). Live adults of P. tenuis, one male and one female, were recovered from the cranium at necropsy. Parelaphostrongylus tenuis infections are long lived and latent periods may be extended. Our findings reaffirm the need for reliable antemortem diagnosis to identify non-patent P. tenuis infections to prevent inadvertent introduction of infected animals to non-endemic areas.