Abdominal trauma in dogs 2. management

Trauma represents a big challenge for emergency doctors both in human and veterinary medicine. There have been great advancements in trauma medicine in people and these often provide an inspiration for veterinary surgeons. However, the vast differences in the facilities and finances available in human and veterinary medicine make the approach to trauma in both fields quite different. This article, the second in a two-part series, describes how to manage canine trauma patients. The first part focused on the initial investigation of canine abdominal trauma. Although this article will mention guidelines in people, these should not be automatically applied to dogs, especially when more relevant evidence for this species exists

Lung lobe torsion in adult and juvenile pugs

This cases series of 13 pugs with lung lobe torsion (LLT) is the largest case series of pugs in the literature and the first to compare dogs presenting before and after 12 months of age. Similar to previous case series, the median age of pugs with LLT was 17 months; however six dogs were under 12 months of age (3 of 13 were 11–13 weeks at presentation). There were no differences between the dogs that presented younger or older than 12 months old with respect to sex, neuter status, lung lobe affected, duration and nature of clinical signs, time alive after discharge, and complications. The juvenile onset may suggest that some dogs are inherently at risk of LLT. This is intriguing and important as LLT may not be an intuitive diagnosis in a juvenile brachycephalic animal, and practitioners should be aware of this unusual presentation

A method of beam–couch intersection detection

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134785/1/mp8509.pd

Repetitive spinal motor neuron discharges following single transcranial magnetic stimulation: relation to dexterity

Transcranial magnetic stimulation allows to study the properties of the human corticospinal tract non-invasively. After a single transcranial magnetic stimulus, spinal motor neurons (MNs) sometimes fire not just once, but repetitively. The biological significance of such repetitive MN discharges (repMNDs) is unknown. To study the relation of repMNDs to other measures of cortico-muscular excitability and to physiological measures of the skill for finely tuned precision movements, we used a previously described quadruple stimulation (QuadS) technique (Z'Graggen et al. 2005) to quantify the amount of repMNDs in abductor digiti minimi muscles (ADMs) on both sides of 20 right-handed healthy subjects. Skillfulness for finger precision movements of both hands was assessed using a finger tapping task. In 16 subjects, a follow-up examination was performed after training of either precision movements (n=8) or force (n=8) of the left ADM. The size of the QuadS response (amplitude and area ratios) was greater in the dominant right hand than in the left hand (QuadS amplitude ratio: 47.1±18.1 versus 37.7±22.0%, Wilcoxon test: P<0.05; QuadS area ratio: 49.7±16.2% versus 36.9±23.0%, Wilcoxon test: P<0.05), pointing to a greater amount of repMNDs. Moreover, the QuadS amplitude and area increased significantly after finger precision training, but not after force training. This increase of repMNDs correlated significantly with the increase in performance in the finger tapping task. Our results demonstrate that repMNDs are related to handedness and therefore probably reflect supraspinal excitability differences. The increase of repMNDs after skills training but not after force training supports the hypothesis of a supraspinal origin of repMND

Prospective evaluation of pericardial catheter placement versus needle pericardiocentesis in the management of canine pericardial effusion

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of pericardial catheter placement with needle pericardiocentesis in dogs with pericardial effusion (PE) Design Prospective, randomized clinical trial. Setting University teaching hospital. Animals Thirty client‐owned dogs requiring pericardiocentesis between January 2017 and August 2019. Interventions Dogs were randomized to undergo PE drainage via indwelling pericardial catheter placement (catheter group) followed by elective drainage every 4–6 hours or needle pericardiocentesis (needle group) repeated as necessary. Measurements and main results Fifteen dogs were allocated to the catheter group and 15 to the needle group. Data collected included signalment, cause of effusion, occurrence of arrhythmias pre‐, during, and post‐pericardiocentesis, procedural length, and details of repeated drainages. There was no significant difference between mean procedural times for pericardial catheter placement (17.7 min [±11.8]) and needle pericardiocentesis (12.1 min [±8.6]) (P = 0.192) or the rate of new arrhythmias in the catheter (36%) and needle (64%) groups (P = 0.24). Pericardial catheters were kept in situ for a median of 21 hours (range, 14–85). Three of 15 (20%) dogs in the needle group required repeated pericardiocentesis within 24 hours of initial pericardiocentesis. Pericardial catheters enabled repeated large volume PE drainage in 4 cases (median, 10.6 mL/kg; range, 8‐5–10.6). Conclusions Pericardial catheters appear to offer a safe alternative to needle pericardiocentesis. Minimal sedation is required for placement, and they can be placed quickly. Their indwelling nature and use was not associated with a higher rate of arrhythmia compared to that of needle pericardiocentesis alone, and may be beneficial in the event that clinically significant PE recurs

Characteristics of the Mars Pathfinder Landing Site from CRISM Hyperspectral Imaging

Preliminary analysis of CRISM imaging of the Mars Pathfinder landing site is consistent with previously reported results from landed imaging. At tens of meters scale, the surface is largely dust-covered. Lee portions of topographic knobs are reddest and show most evidence for ferric mineralogy. The nearby 1.5-km diameter "Big Crater" exposes olivine, which is atypical of the northern plains. Big Crater may have penetrated northern plains material to expose buried basaltic highlands