Effect of clinical signs, endocrinopathies, timing of surgery, hyperlipidemia, and hyperbilirubinemia on outcome in dogs with gallbladder mucocele

Gallbladder mucocele (GBM) is a common extra-hepatic biliary syndrome in dogs with death rates ranging from 7 to 45%. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the association of survival with variables that could be utilized to improve clinical decisions. A total of 1194 dogs with a gross and histopathological diagnosis of GBM were included from 41 veterinary referral hospitals in this retrospective study. Dogs with GBM that demonstrated abnormal clinical signs had significantly greater odds of death than subclinical dogs in a univariable analysis (OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 2.14–8.23; P < 0.001). The multivariable model indicated that categorical variables including owner recognition of jaundice (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.19–3.77; P = 0.011), concurrent hyperadrenocorticism (OR 1.94; 95% CI, 1.08–3.47; P = 0.026), and Pomeranian breed (OR, 2.46; 95% CI 1.10–5.50; P = 0.029) were associated with increased odds of death, and vomiting was associated with decreased odds of death (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.30–0.72; P = 0.001). Continuous variables in the multivariable model, total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01–1.04; P < 0.001) and age (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.08–1.26; P < 0.001), were associated with increased odds of death. The clinical utility of total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration as a biomarker to predict death was poor with a sensitivity of 0.61 (95% CI, 0.54–0.69) and a specificity of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.59–0.66). This study identified several prognostic variables in dogs with GBM including total serum/plasma bilirubin concentration, age, clinical signs, concurrent hyperadrenocorticism, and the Pomeranian breed. The presence of hypothyroidism or diabetes mellitus did not impact outcome in this study.Supplemental Table S1. Number of dogs included from each institution and years reviewed.Supplemental Table S2. Included breeds.Supplemental Table S3. Distribution of various reasons given for performing cholecystectomy in the 179 subclinical dogs with gallbladder mucocele (GBM).Supplemental Table S4. Distribution of clinical signs associated with systemic illness in 982 dogs with gallbladder mucocele.Supplemental Table S5. Distribution of reasons for death in-hospital (i.e. euthanized and died) in 179 dogs with gallbladder mucocele that underwent cholecystectomy.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/tvjlhj2020Companion Animal Clinical Studie

Ecological level analysis of primary lung tumors in dogs and cats and environmental radon activity

Background: Epidemiologic studies suggest residential radon exposure might increase the risk of primary lung cancer in people, but these studies are limited by subject mobility. This limitation might be overcome by evaluating the association in pets. Hypothesis: Primary pulmonary neoplasia (PPN) rate is higher in dogs and cats residing in counties with a high radon exposure risk (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] zone 1) compared to zones 2 (moderate radon exposure risk) and 3 (low radon exposure risk). Animals: Six hundred ninety client-owned dogs and 205 client-owned cats with PPN. Methods: Retrospective review of medical records at 10 veterinary colleges identified dogs and cats diagnosed with PPN between 2010 and 2015. Each patient's radon exposure was determined by matching the patient's zip code with published county radon exposure risk. County level PPN rates were calculated using the average annual county cat and dog populations. The PPN counts per 100 000 dog/cat years at risk (PPN rates) were compared across radon zones for each species. Results: The PPN rate ratio in counties in high radon zone (1) was approximately 2-fold higher than in counties in lower radon zones for dogs (rate ratio zone 1 to 2, 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56-4.00; rate ratio zone 1 to 3, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.46-3.59) and cats (rate ratio zone 1 to 2, 2.13; 95% CI, 0.95-4.79; zone 1 to 3, 1.81; 95% CI, 0.9-3.61). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Exposure to household radon might play a role in development of PPN in dogs and cats.This is the published version of the following article: Fowler, Brittany L., Chad M. Johannes, Annette O'Connor, Deanna Collins, Jonathan Lustgarten, Chaohui Yuan, Kristen Weishaar et al. "Ecological level analysis of primary lung tumors in dogs and cats and environmental radon activity." Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 34, no. 6 (2020): 2660-2670. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.15936. Copyright 2020 The Authors. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Posted with permission