Does manuka honey improve the speed of wound healing in dogs?

There is currently no published peer-reviewed evidence comparing the rate of healing of acute superficial wounds in dogs managed with and without medical-grade manuka honey. Therefore, the choice of wound management strategy should be based on other forms of evidence, such as expert opinion and narrative reviews

Comparing wound complications associated with midline and flank approaches for spaying cats

There is no evidence that either a flank or midline approach for spaying cats is consistently associated with more wound complications, and, overall, complication rates appear to be low

Biosecurity on Cattle Farms: A Study in North-West England

Few studies have considered in detail the range of biosecurity practices undertaken on cattle farms, particularly within the UK. In this study, 56 cattle farmers in a 100 km² area of north-west England were questioned regarding their on-farm biosecurity practices, including those relating to animal movements, equipment sharing and companies and contractors visiting the farms.There was great variation between farms in terms of the type of, and extent to which, biosecurity was carried out. For example, the majority of farmers did not isolate stock bought onto the farm, but a small proportion always isolated stock. Many farmers administered treatments post-movement, primarily vaccinations and anthelmintics, but very few farms reported carrying out any health checks after moving animals on. In addition, there appeared to be much variation in the amount of biosecurity carried out by the different companies and contractors visiting the farms. Deadstock collectors and contracted animal waste spreaders, although likely to have a high potential for contact with infectious agents, were reported to infrequently disinfect themselves and their vehicles.These findings suggest that although certain biosecurity practices are undertaken, many are carried out infrequently or not at all. This may be due to many factors, including cost (in time and money), lack of proven efficacies of practices and lack of relevant education of veterinary surgeons, producers and other herd health specialists. Further research exploring the reasons for the lack of uptake is imperative if preventive medicine is to be utilised fully by the farming industry

Contacts between cattle farms and their role in pathogen transmission

This project was designed to address the lack of knowledge on the contact structures existing between farms in the UK, which were mfluential on disease transmission during the 2001 foot nouth disease epidemic. The primary aun of this project was to investigate the direct and indirect contacts between cattle farms regionally, by collecting mformation from 56 cattle foldings in a discrete area of north-west England via mterview-based questionnaires. These Dntacts were examined using network analysis techniques to highlight individuals or contact types that might be likely to transmit disease. Factors impacting on the likelihood of such contacts spreading disease such as on-farm biosecurity were also examined, along with producers' attitudes towards such measures

Does intrauterine cephapirin improve subsequent fertility in cows with clinical endometritis?

The evidence suggests that cephapirinimproves subsequent fertility in dairy cows affected by clinical endometritis when compared with no treatment

An Evidence-Based Rapid Review of Surgical Techniques for Correction of Prolapsed Nictitans Glands in Dogs

© 2018 by the authors. Prolapsed nictitans gland (PNG) is an important ocular condition of dogs. Various surgical interventions have been described, but effective technique is currently considered to be a matter of personal clinician preference. The aim of this rapid review was to evaluate existing peer-reviewed evidence of effectiveness for surgical techniques and their subsequent effects on quantitative and clinical lacrimal outcomes for PNG.We performed a structured bibliographic search of CAB Abstracts, PubMed, and Medline using terms relevant to dogs, nictitans gland, and surgery on 13 September 2017. Included studies were assessed for study design, reporting characteristics, surgical techniques, and surgical and lacrimal outcomes. Fifteen of three hundred fifteen identified studies were eligible for inclusion. Seven different replacement techniques were identified, along with gland excision. All studies were observational or descriptive, with the exception of a single crossover trial. Outcomes reporting was heterogeneous and provided limited detail on lacrimal outcomes or on breed propensity for recurrence. Insufficient data precluded comparison of techniques for either surgical failure rates or lacrimal outcomes, although proportional meta-analysis yielded an overall failure rate of 3% (95% CI 1-7%) for the Morgan's pocket procedure. Improved reporting of veterinary surgical studies will improve evidence appraisal and synthesis, as well as reduce potential sources of bias

“I always feel like I have to rush…”: pet owner and small animal veterinary surgeons’ reflections on time during preventative healthcare consultations in the United Kingdom

Canine and feline preventative healthcare consultations can be more complex than other consultation types, but they are typically not allocated additional time in the United Kingdom (UK). Impacts of the perceived length of UK preventative healthcare consultations have not previously been described. The aim of this novel study was to provide the first qualitative description of owner and veterinary surgeon reflections on time during preventative healthcare consultations. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 14 veterinary surgeons and 15 owners about all aspects of canine and feline preventative healthcare consultations. These qualitative data were thematically analysed, and four key themes identified. This paper describes the theme relating to time and consultation length. Patient, owner, veterinary surgeon and practice variables were recalled to impact the actual, versus allocated, length of a preventative healthcare consultation. Preventative healthcare consultations involving young, old and multi-morbid animals and new veterinary surgeon-owner partnerships appear particularly susceptible to time pressures. Owners and veterinary surgeons recalled rushing and minimizing discussions to keep consultations within their allocated time. The impact of the pace, content and duration of a preventative healthcare consultation may be influential factors in consultation satisfaction. These interviews provide an important insight into the complex nature of preventative healthcare consultations and the behaviour of participants under different perceived time pressures. These data may be of interest and relevance to all stakeholders in dog and cat preventative healthcare