Quality assurance for veterinary in-clinic laboratories

• Quality assurance and the implementation of a quality management system are as important for veterinary in-clinic laboratories as for reference laboratories. • Elements of a quality management system include the formulation of a quality plan, establishment of quality goals, a health and safety policy, trained personnel, appropriate and well-maintained facilities and equipment, standard operating procedures, and participation in external quality assurance programs. • Quality assurance principles should be applied to preanaltyic, analytic, and postanalytic phases of the in-clinic laboratory cycle to ensure that results are accurate and reliable and are released in a timely manner.http://vetsmall.theclinics.com2022-11-16hj2022Companion Animal Clinical Studie

Validation of a point-of-care clinical chemistry analyser generation of clinical chemistry reference intervals and evaluation of serum protein electrophoresis in the southern white rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum simum

The southern white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum simum, is heavily poached in southern Africa, with over 4 000 animals killed in South Africa between 2013 and the end of 2016. White rhinoceros that survive poaching attempts, or those that are wounded during fighting, require veterinary care for their injuries. Both injured and orphaned rhinoceros also require veterinary care during the process of rehabilitation and return to the wild. Clinical pathology plays an important role in the initial evaluation and ongoing monitoring of these animals, but it can only become a truly useful tool for this species if wildlife veterinarians have access to validated analytical methods and accurate reference intervals. The broad objectives of this study were therefore to 1) validate a point-of-care clinical chemistry analyser for use in the white rhinoceros, and assess its performance under field conditions; 2) generate clinical chemistry reference intervals on the point-of-care analyser, and a reference laboratory analyser, for the white rhinoceros; and 3) explore serum protein fractions in both healthy and injured white rhinoceros. Best-practice guidelines for method validation, quality control and reference interval generation, as published by the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology, were followed throughout. The IDEXX VetTest was selected as the point-of-care analyser. Method validation was performed by assessing differences between white rhinoceros heparin plasma and serum, short-term imprecision, long-term imprecision and reportable range. The VetTest was found to be suitable for use in the white rhinoceros, although imprecision was high for alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) at low activities, and the reportable range for AST and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) differed from the manufacturer’s specifications. Statistical quality control methods were used to develop a quality control strategy for the analyser and this protocol was used to evaluate the performance of the VetTest under typical field conditions. Eleven analytes were suitable for statistical quality control using the 13s rule, three using the 2s rule; ALP was not suitable. In the field, the observed analytical error was less than the allowable analytical error for all fifteen analytes and sigma metric values were >3.0 for twelve analytes. This study showed that statistical quality control protocols are useful for monitoring the performance of point-of-care analysers, and that the VetTest can be used out in the field for white rhinoceros. Clinical chemistry reference intervals are used as an indication of normal values in health, against which the results of ill animals are compared. These reference intervals should be not only species-, but also analyser-specific, as different analytical methods may produce different results. A method comparison study was carried out to assess analytical differences between the VetTest and the Roche Cobas Integra 400 Plus, using white rhinoceros plasma. Significant differences were found for all of the ten analytes examined. Separate reference intervals were subsequently generated for each analyser from 51 healthy wild rhinoceros. Noteworthy findings from this study were the low ALT activity and high total protein and globulin concentrations in this species.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017.Companion Animal Clinical StudiesPhDUnrestricte

Acute phase reactants in nondomesticated mammals—a veterinary clinical pathology perspective

Applications for acute phase reactants (APRs) in nondomesticated mammals include identifying inflammatory disease, monitoring the course of specific disease processes and recovery during rehabilitation, detecting preclinical or subclinical disease, being used as bioindicators for monitoring population and ecosystem health, and as markers of stress and animal welfare. Serum amyloid A, haptoglobin, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, albumin, and iron are most commonly measured. The procedure for evaluating an APR in a nondomesticated mammalian species should follow a stepwise approach beginning with an assessment of analytical performance, followed by an evaluation of overlap performance, clinical performance, and impact on patient outcomes and management. The lack of species-specific standards and antibodies for nondomesticated mammals presents a challenge, and more attention needs to be focused on assessing cross-reactivity and ensuring adequate analytical performance of APR assays. Sample selection for the initial evaluation of APRs should consider preanalytical influences and should originate from animals with confirmed inflammatory disease and healthy animals. Reference intervals should be generated according to published guidelines. Further evaluation should focus on assessing the diagnostic utility of APRs in specific disease scenarios relevant to a species. Greater attention should be paid to assay performance and uniformity of methods when using APRs for population and ecosystem surveillance. Veterinary clinical pathologists should work closely with zoo veterinarians and wildlife researchers to optimize the accuracy and utility of APR measurements in these various conservation medicine scenarios.http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/vcphj2022Centre for Veterinary Wildlife StudiesCompanion Animal Clinical Studie

Improved induction of anti-melanoma T cells by adenovirus-5/3 fiber modification to target human DCs

To mount a strong anti-tumor immune response, non T cell inflamed (cold) tumors may require combination treatment encompassing vaccine strategies preceding checkpoint inhibition. In vivo targeted delivery of tumor-associated antigens (TAA) to dendritic cells (DCs), relying on the natural functions of primary DCs in situ, represents an attractive vaccination strategy. In this study we made use of a full-length MART-1 expressing C/B-chimeric adenoviral vector, consisting of the Ad5 capsid and the Ad3 knob (Ad5/3), which we previously showed to selectively transduce DCs in human skin and lymph nodes. Our data demonstrate that chimeric Ad5/3 vectors encoding TAA, and able to target human DCs in situ, can be used to efficiently induce expansion of functional tumor-specific CD8⁺ effector T cells, either from a naïve T cell pool or from previously primed T cells residing in the melanoma-draining sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). These data support the use of Ad3-knob containing viruses as vaccine vehicles for in vivo delivery. "Off-the-shelf" DC-targeted Ad vaccines encoding TAA could clearly benefit future immunotherapeutic approaches

Anthracyclines modulate multidrug resistance protein (MRP) mediated organic anion transport

AbstractWe studied the ATP-dependent uptake of dinitrophenyl-glutathione (GS-DNP) into plasma membrane vesicles derived from parental GLC4 cells and from multidrug resistant GLC4/ADR cells. The latter have a high expression of the multidrug resistance protein (MRP). Uptake of GS-DNP into membrane vesicles from GLC4/ADR cells was highly stimulated by the addition of ATP, compared to the uptake into membrane vesicles from GLC4 cells. This ATP-dependent uptake into membrane vesicles from GLC4/ADR cells was saturable with a Km of 1.2±0.2 μM and a Vmax of 560±80 pmol/mg prot./min. ATP stimulated GS-DNP uptake with a Km of 187±4 μM. This uptake was specifically inhibited by a polyclonal serum raised against a fusion protein containing a segment of MRP. The ATP-dependent uptake of GS-DNP was not only inhibited by organic anions, such as oxidized glutathione (GSSG), methotrexate (MTX) and some bile acids, but also by non-anionic natural product drugs, such as anthracyclines, vinca alkaloids and etoposide (VP-16). Uptake of GSSG and MTX into membrane vesicles from GLC4/ADR cells could be stimulated by ATP. The ATP-dependent uptake of GSSG had a Km of 43±3 μM and a Vmax of 900±200 nmol/mg protein/min. The ATP-dependent uptake of GS-DNP seemed to be non-competitively inhibited by the anthracycline daunorubicin (DNR), whereas the ATP-dependent GSSG uptake seemed to be competitively inhibited by DNR. A substrate binding site on MRP is proposed that comprises a pocket in which both DNR and GS-DNP or GSSG bind in random order to different, only partly overlapping sites. In this pocket binding of a second compound is influenced by the compound which was bound first

Diseño de prueba screening orientada a evaluar el valor de la integridad

Curso de Especial InterésEn la actualidad se ha identificado la carencia en la medición y evaluación de los valores corporativos en las organizaciones, motivo por el cual en el presente escrito se profundiza en el valor de la integridad, tras el diseño de una prueba psicométrica, orientada a evaluar el mencionado constructo desde tres categorías, siendo estas, la integridad personal, la integridad moral y la integridad empresarial, desde la técnica screening o de tamizaje, la cual fue procesada por medio del software winsteps, con base en la teoría de respuesta al ítem, con el modelo de Rash, después de su aplicación a 24 colaboradores de la Universidad Católica de Colombia, los resultados mostraron que la prueba es de buena calidad técnica, sin embargo, en la discusión se sugiere en relación a lo anterior y teniendo en cuenta el análisis de contenido de los ítems, revisar los siguientes ítems 3, 4, 10 y 15.PregradoPsicólog

Temporally specific adrenocorticotropic hormone reference intervals for horses in South Africa

An endogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration above the reference interval (RI) is commonly used as means for diagnosing equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Basal ACTH concentrations are highly dependent on photoperiod and RIs should be month- and location-specific. To date, no ACTH RIs have been specifically established for South Africa. This study aimed to determine geographically and seasonally relevant RIs for equine ACTH in the Gauteng province of South Africa. A longitudinal prospective study was conducted over twelve months to determine ACTH RIs for a representative population of healthy South African horses in the Gauteng province. Eighty clinically healthy horses under 12 years of age were recruited for monthly venous blood sample collection, from July 2019 to June 2020. ACTH was measured using a chemiluminescent assay. RIs were constructed for each month of the year. This South African population showed similar temporal changes in ACTH concentrations to those previously observed in other locations. Upper reference limits were at their lowest in early summer (21.4 pg/ml, 90% CI 20.8–21.7) with a pronounced increase in autumn (60.6 pg/ml, 90% CI 53.1–62.7), and tapered off in winter (22.3 pg/ml, 90% CI 19.9–23.2). The month-specific ACTH RIs generated in this study will improve the accuracy of diagnosis and monitoring of PPID in the local equine population. These results highlighted the previously recommended need for seasonal and location-specific RIs.The Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, and by a postgraduate bursary from the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority of South Africa.http://www.jsava.co.zaam2023Companion Animal Clinical Studie

Effects of storage time and temperature on thromboelastographic analysis in dogs and horses

Please read abstract in the article.Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria.http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/vcphj2022Companion Animal Clinical Studie