Variables Affecting Thigh Girth Measurement and Observer Reliability in Dogs

Objective: The purpose of the study reported here was to describe variables affecting thigh girth measurements preoperatively and 2 weeks after surgical stabilization of the stifle and to examine inter- and intra-observer reliability.Animals: Ten hound-type dogs with experimental, unilateral, cranial cruciate ligament transection, and surgical stabilization.Procedures: Dogs were placed in lateral recumbency for measurements of thigh circumference after the stifle was placed in flexed (F), estimated standing (S), and extended (E) positions. Measurements were made at 50 and 70% of thigh length (TL), with hair unclipped and then clipped prior to surgery, before and 2 weeks after cruciate ligament transection and stifle stabilization, and with and without sedation. A spring tension measuring tape was used to determine thigh girth that allowed a consistent amount of end-tension to be applied to the tape. All measurements were made by two blinded individuals in triplicate, data were recorded for each set of measurements and the mean of the three measurements for each condition was used for analysis.Results: Thigh girth was significantly greater at the more proximal site of 50% TL (36.7 ± 2.6 cm) when compared to the 70% TL (31.7 ± 2.7 cm) (P = 0.001). Sedation did not significantly affect thigh girth at any stifle position at the 70% and 50% TL. Although there were no differences in thigh circumference between the flexion and standing positions at 50% TL (F 38.2 ± 2.8 cm, S 38.1 ± 2.9 cm) and 70% TL (F 33.6 ± 1.6 cm; S 33.6 ± 1.8 cm), full extension of the stifle resulted in significantly less thigh girth (50% TL 36.6 ± 2.6 cm, P = 0.006; 70% TL 31.7 ± 2.6 cm, P = 0.006). Significant decreases in thigh girth were seen after surgery in all limb positions at both measurement sites. The highest correlations between Observer 1 (OB1) and Observer 2 (OB2) with least differences in measurements were with the stifle in the extended position. Agreement between two observers using standard measuring technique was significant at both the 50% (OB1: 34.10 ± 2.93 cm, OB2: 34.08 ± 2.65 cm, P = 0.007, ICC = 0.984) and 70% (OB1: 29.89 ± 2.43 cm, OB2: 30.04 ± 2.30 cm, P = 0.004, ICC = 0.981) TL positions with the stifle placed in extended position.Conclusion and Clinical Importance: Thigh girth measurement may be useful as an outcome measure when appropriate measuring technique is used. It is recommended that thigh girth be obtained at a distance of 70% thigh length, with the leg in an extended position while in lateral recumbency, and the dog relaxed or under sedation. Further studies should be performed in a variety of clinical situations

A Systematic Literature Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine: Laser Therapy

Light therapy, or photobiomodulation, is a collective name for methods where tissue is irradiated with different types of light, with the aim of stimulating healing. Despite being frequently used, there is no consensus regarding the optimal treatment protocols for light therapy, nor its clinical efficacy. A systematic literature review was conducted, searching the relevant literature regarding light therapy in three databases, published between 1980–2020. The risk of bias in each article was evaluated. Forty-five articles met the inclusion criteria; 24 articles were regarding dogs, 1 was regarding cats, and the rest were regarding horses. The indications for treatment were musculoskeletal and neurologic conditions, skin disease and wounds, and pain. The literature review showed conflicting study results and unclear application for clinical use. This can be explained by the wide variety of treatment parameters used in the searched studies, such as wavelength, laser class, dose, and effect, as well as the frequency and duration of treatment. Although some beneficial effects were reported for light therapy, the studies also had limited scientific quality regarding these therapies, with a high or moderate risk of bias

Komplementära och alternativa behandlingsmetoder för sport- och sällskapsdjur- en systematisk litteraturöversikt

Komplementär och alternativ veterinärmedicin (KAVM) är ett svårdefinierat område och omfattar en rad sinsemellan olika behandlingsmetoder. KAVM-metoder finns representerade längs en hel ”gråskala”, från de som i vetenskapliga studier uppvisat dokumenterade förklaringsmodeller, till de som visat sig vara verkningslösa. Det är metoder som idag till stor del utförs utanför den konventionella djursjukvården.Syftet med projektet har varit att systematiskt gå igenom den vetenskapliga dokumentationen för ett urval KAVM-metoder vad gäller klinisk effekt på djurslagen häst, hund och katt. Rapporten syftar till att höja kunskapsnivån bland djurhälsopersonal, terapeuter, djurägare, försäkringsbolag och myndigheter.Vi har genomfört systematiska litteraturöversikter av metoder inom grupperna akupunktur, elektroterapi, ljusterapi, mjukdelsbehandling, mobiliserings- och manipulationsmetoder, samt ”övriga terapier”. Detta arbete omfattar således även metoder som ingår i den konventionella humansjukvården, och som i viss mån även används inom djurhälsovård. Litteratursökningar gjordes i databaserna Web of Science Core Collection, CABI och PubMed och inkluderade artiklar publicerade under åren 1980-2020. Totalt 16071 artiklar identifierades och av dessa motsvarade 258 i förväg satta inklusionskriterier.Av de inkluderade metoderna uppvisade majoriteten bristande vetenskaplig dokumentation och var av otillräcklig kvalitet för att kunna dra någon slutsats om metodernas effekt, på en specifik indikation och för djurslagen häst, hund och katt. Våra systematiska översikter indikerar att vissa KVAM-metoder skulle kunna vara värda att utvärderas i högkvalitativa prövningar, t.ex. akupunktur, extrakorporal stötvågsbehandling, terapeutiskt ultraljud, pulserande elektromagnetisk terapi och laserbehandling. Likaså skulle resultat från humanmedicinska studier tillsammans med enstaka gynnsamma resultat från djurstudier kunna motivera fördjupade interventionsstudier. Dit hör t.ex. massage, vissa elektroterapier och high-velocity low-amplitude-behandling. För övriga metoder finns för lite vetenskaplig dokumentation för att kunna säga hur de bör prioriteras för vidare forskning.Den primära begränsningen ligger hos de studier som granskats: bristen på publikationer av god vetenskplig kvalitet och en stor variation i indikationer, tillämpade tekniker, behandlingsprotokoll och resultatvariabler mellan studier. Sammantaget har dessa brister förhindrat en meningsfull tolkning av den totala kliniska effekten av enskilda KVAM-terapier. Rapporten ger en sammanfattning av den vetenskapliga dokumentationen om utvalda KAVM-metoder. Den identifierar dessutom omfattningen av metodernas vetenskapliga underlag och ger utförlig information om kunskapsläget, att användas av djurhälsopersonal, djurägare, försäkringsbolag och myndigheter

Equine Rounds, No. 8, September, 1985

Topics in this issue of Equine Rounds include: Special Lameness Edition: Preventive Medicine for Lameness, Pt. I, The Lameness Equation (Darryl Millis); Pt. II, Early Clinical and Pre-Clinical Detection of Lameness (Darryl Millis, Francis Kallfelz, Patricia Tithof); Carpitis (Lynne Swanson, Michael Collier); Bovine Spavin (Amy Glaser, Richard Pankowski); Navicular Disease (Carolyn Griffitts. Lance Bell); Dr. Rory Todhunter (interview) (Claire Tusch)

Development of a scale to evaluate mobility in dogs

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to develop and to assess the psychometric characteristics of a mobility scale for dogs. The original ten questions were reduced using validation process. One hundred and twenty three dog owners were invited to answer the questionnaire. Internal consistency, factor analysis, floor and ceiling effect and construct validity were studied. Good internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha=0.854) was determined with two items eliminated. The instrument comprises 8 final questions, each of which has five possible answers (never, rarely, sometimes, often and always) scored between 0 and 4 or between 4 and 0 (for the items with inverse score). Three hypotheses proposed for the construct validity were verified: 1) gender does not influence dog mobility (P=0.584); 2) mobility decreases with age (P<0.001); 3) dogs with orthopaedic or neurological diagnosed pathologies have less mobility (median score (P25; P75) 46.9% (31.3; 68.8)) than healthy dogs (median score (P25; P75) 81.3% (71.9; 93.8)) (P<0.001). Total score range was 0 to 32 points, with higher values indicating greater mobility of dogs. The Dog Mobility Scale was capable of assessing mobility in dogs, with good psychometric characteristics, and is simple and inexpensive to apply in clinical practice