Evaluation of the Impacts of Radio-Marking Devices on Feral Horses and Burros in a Captive Setting

Radio-collars and other radio-marking devices have been invaluable tools for wildlife managers for \u3e40 years. These marking devices have improved our understanding of wildlife spatial ecology and demographic parameters and provided new data facilitating model development for species conservation and management. Although these tools have been used on virtually all North American ungulates, their deployment on feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) or burros (E. asinus) has been limited. To determine if radio-collars and radio-tags could be safely deployed on feral equids, we conducted a 1-year observational study in 2015 to investigate fit and wear of radio-collars on feral horses and burros kept in pastures/pens at the Bureau of Land Management contracted adoption facility in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, USA. We assessed the impact of radio-collars and transmitter tags on individual behavior, body condition, and evaluated neck surface for effects. We tested 2 radio-collar shapes (teardrop and oval) and a radio-tag (i.e., avian backpack) braided into the mane and tail of horses. Behavior of mares did not differ between radio-collared (n = 12) and control (uncollared; n = 12) individuals. Despite the small sample size, collared burro jennies (n = 4) spent more time standing than controls (n = 4). Stallions wearing radio-collars (n = 9) fed less, moved less, and stood more than controls (n = 8). During the study, we did not detect injuries to the necks of mares or burro jennies, but stallions developed small sores (that healed while still wearing radio-collars and re-haired within 3 months). Two radio-collars occasionally flipped forward over the ears onto the foreheads of stallions. Although our study confirmed that radio-collars could be safely deployed on captive mares and jennies, stallions proved challenging for a variety of reasons. While our conclusions were optimistic, longer studies will be required to ensure radio-collar safety on free-ranging feral horses and burros

Performance of TEM-PCR vs Culture for Bacterial Identification in Pediatric Musculoskeletal Infections

Improved diagnostics are needed for children with musculoskeletal infections (MSKIs). We assessed the performance of target-enriched multiplex polymerase chain reaction (TEM-PCR) in children with MSKI. TEM-PCR was concordant with culture in pathogen identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing, while increasing the overall yield of pathogen detection. This technology has the potential to inform judicious antimicrobial use early in the disease course

Late effects of clubfoot deformity in adolescent and young adult patients whose initial treatment was an extensive soft-tissue release: Topic review and clinical case series

Children with congenital clubfoot often have residual deformity, pain, and limited function in adolescence and young adulthood. These patients represent a heterogeneous group that often requires an individualized management strategy. This article reviews the available literature on this topic while proposing a descriptive classification system based on a review of patients at our institution who underwent surgery for problems related to previous clubfoot deformity during the period between January 1999 and January 2012. Seventy-two patients (93 feet) underwent surgical treatment for the late effects of clubfoot deformity at an average age of 13 years (range 9 to 19 years). All patients had been treated at a young age with serial casting, and most had at least one previous surgery on the affected foot or feet. Five common patterns of pathology identified were as follows: undercorrection, overcorrection, dorsal bunion, anterior ankle impingement, and lateral hindfoot impingement. Management pathways for each group of the presenting problems is described. To our knowledge, this topic review represents the largest report of adolescent and young adult patients with residual clubfoot deformity in the literature

Patient-reported outcomes of periacetabular osteotomy from the prospective ANCHOR cohort study

BACKGROUND: Current literature describing the periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is mostly limited to retrospective case series. Larger, prospective cohort studies are needed to provide better clinical evidence regarding this procedure. The goals of the current study were to (1) report minimum 2-year patient-reported outcomes (pain, hip function, activity, overall health, and quality of life), (2) investigate preoperative clinical and disease characteristics as predictors of clinical outcomes, and (3) report the rate of early failures and reoperations in patients undergoing contemporary PAO surgery. METHODS: A large, prospective, multicenter cohort of PAO procedures was established, and outcomes at a minimum of 2 years were analyzed. A total of 391 hips were included for analysis (79% of the patients were female, and the average patient age was 25.4 years). Patient-reported outcomes, conversion to total hip replacement, reoperations, and major complications were documented. Variables with a p value of ≤0.10 in the univariate linear regressions were included in the multivariate linear regression. The backward stepwise selection method was used to determine the final risk factors of clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Clinical outcome analysis demonstrated major clinically important improvements in pain, function, quality of life, overall health, and activity level. Increasing age and a body mass index status of overweight or obese were predictive of improved results for certain outcome metrics. Male sex and mild acetabular dysplasia were predictive of lesser improvements in certain outcome measures. Three (0.8%) of the hips underwent early conversion to total hip arthroplasty, 12 (3%) required reoperation, and 26 (7%) experienced a major complication. CONCLUSIONS: This large, prospective cohort study demonstrated the clinical success of contemporary PAO surgery for the treatment of symptomatic acetabular dysplasia. Patient and disease characteristics demonstrated predictive value that should be considered in surgical decision-making. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence