Prevalence of ultrasonographic gastrointestinal wall changes in dogs with acute pancreatitis: A retrospective study (2012-2020)

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonographic gastrointestinal wall changes in dogs with acute pancreatitis (AP) are not well characterized in the literature. No detailed studies have described their prevalence, characteristics, distribution, or clinical relevance. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Describe the prevalence of ultrasonographic gastrointestinal wall changes in a population of dogs with AP and evaluate for associations between the presence of gastrointestinal wall changes and clinical or clinicopathological variables. ANIMALS: Referral population of 66 client‐owned dogs with AP. METHODS: Retrospective search of clinical records to identify dogs with AP. Clinical variables, clinicopathological variables and ultrasonographic findings were reported using descriptive statistics. A binary logistic regression model was used to evaluate for associations between the presence of gastrointestinal wall changes and clinical or clinicopathological variables. RESULTS: Sixty‐six dogs were included. Forty‐seven percent of dogs (95% confidence interval [CI], 35.0%‐59.0%; n = 31) with AP had ultrasonographic gastrointestinal wall changes. Gastrointestinal wall changes were most common in the duodenum and identified in 71% (n = 22) of affected dogs. Of dogs with gastrointestinal wall changes, 74.2% (n = 23) had wall thickening, 61.3% (n = 19) had abnormal wall layering, and 35.5% (n = 11) had wall corrugation. In the multivariable model, only heart rate remained an independent predictor of ultrasonographic gastrointestinal wall changes (P = .02). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Ultrasonographic gastrointestinal wall changes in this population of dogs with AP were common. Increased heart rate was the only independent predictor of gastrointestinal wall changes, which might imply more severe disease. Additional studies are required to elucidate whether ultrasonographic gastrointestinal wall changes reflect disease severity in AP

Effect of preoperative administration of atenolol to dogs with pulmonic stenosis undergoing interventional procedures

BACKGROUND: Beta‐blockade is sometimes used in dogs with pulmonic stenosis with the intent of reducing frequency of ventricular arrhythmias during right heart catheterization. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if pretreatment with atenolol reduces frequency of ventricular arrhythmias, anesthetist interventions, or shortens procedure time. ANIMALS: Thirty dogs with pulmonic stenosis scheduled for interventional procedures. METHODS: Single center, prospective, randomized, open‐label study. Dogs were randomized to treatment with atenolol or no treatment preoperatively for a minimum of 10 days. Variables recorded included heart rate, arrhythmias and complexity, total procedure time and administration of antiarrhythmic treatment, vasopressors, positive chronotropes, or fluid boluses. RESULTS: Fifteen dogs were enrolled in each group. Dogs receiving atenolol had lower mean heart rates during the procedure (atenolol 100 ± 11 bpm vs untreated 115 ± 19 bpm, P = .01). There were no significant differences between the atenolol and untreated groups in the frequency of ventricular ectopic complexes (535 [6‐5296] vs 553 [79‐2863], P = .9), ventricular couplets (46 [0‐481] vs 29 [3‐121], P = .59), ventricular triplets (20 [0‐265] vs 16 [1‐82], P = .67), ventricular tachycardia (8 [0‐224] vs 8 [1‐118], P = .99), proportion exhibiting R‐on‐T phenomenon (11/15 vs 14/15, P = .33), proportion receiving intraoperative lidocaine (1/15 vs 3/15, P = .6), vasopressors/positive chronotropes (11/15 vs 5/15, P = .06), or fluid boluses (12/15 vs 7/15, P = .13). The procedure time was similar (atenolol 41 [23‐68] min vs untreated 35 [18‐98] min, P = .91). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: No benefit of preoperative atenolol treatment was identified in this small group of dogs

Heart rate variability during high-speed treadmill exercise and recovery in Thoroughbred racehorses presented for poor performance

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis measures the inter-beat interval variation of successive cardiac cycles. Measurement of these indices has been used to assess cardiac autonomic modulation and for arrhythmia identification in exercising horses.Objectives: To report HRV indices during submaximal exercise, strenuous exercise and recovery, and explore relationships with clinical conditions (arrhythmias, lameness, equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS), lower airway inflammation and upper respiratory tract obstructions (URTO) in Thoroughbred (TB) racehorses.Study Design: Retrospective, observational cross-sectional study.Methods: One hundred and eighty Thoroughbred horses underwent a treadmill exercise test with simultaneous electrocardiographic (ECG) recording. Time-domain HRV indices (standard deviation of the R-R interval (SDRR); root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD)) were derived for submaximal and strenuous exercise and recovery segments. Clinical conditions (arrhythmia (during each phase of exercise), lameness, EGUS, lower airway inflammation and URTO) were assigned to binary categories for statistical analysis. Relationships between selected HRV indices and the clinical conditions were explored using linear regression models. Results: During submaximal exercise, lameness was associated with decreased logRMSSD (B= -0.19 95% CI -0.31 to -0.06, P= 0.006) and arrhythmia was associated with increased logRMSSD (B= 0.31 95% CI 0.01-.608, P=0.04). During strenuous exercise, arrhythmia was associated with increased HRV indices (logSDRR B= 0.51 95% CI 0.40-0.62, PMain Limitations: The main limitations of this retrospective study were that not every horse had the full range of clinical testing, therefore some horses may have had undetected abnormalities. Conclusions: The presence of arrhythmia increased HRV in both phases of exercise and recovery. Lameness decreased HRV during submaximal exercise