Ocular Echobiometry and Resistivity Index of External Ophthalmic Artery in Agoutis (Dasyprocta prymnolopha)

Background: Veterinary Ophthalmology provides complementary information for the diagnosis of ocular pathologies. Studies in wild species are essential. Among the diagnostic techniques in ophthalmology, two-dimensional ultrasonography stands out. The agouti is a rodent belonging to the Dasyproctidae family that has been widely used as an experimental model. For these animals, sight is one of the crucial senses for their survival. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the two-dimensional ocular ultrasound technique to obtain anatomical measurements and the external ophthalmic artery resistivity index, presumably normal in the species Dasyprocta prymnolopha.Materials, Methods & Results: Forty eye bulbs of 20 adult rodents of the species were evaluated by ultrasonography. In these animals, B-mode echobiometry was performed using the transpalpebral approach and the hemodynamic study of the external ophthalmic artery using the color Doppler technique. All examinations were initiated by the left eye bulb and all measurements were performed by only one examiner. The collected data related to echobiometry were analyzed using Bioest 5.0 for Windows. Initially, normality was tested using the Shapiro-Wilk test for each parameter, then the paired t-test was performed, comparing right and left eyes, and a significance level of 5% (P < 0.05) was adopted. Based on the methodology used, the following values were obtained for the right and left eyeballs, respectively: anterior chamber thickness - mean of 1.28 ± 0.3 mm and 1.22 ± 0.1 mm; lens thickness - 8.27 ± 0.9 mm and 8.11 ± 0.9 mm; vitreous chamber thickness - 5.35 ± 0.48 mm and 5.30 ± 0.47 mm and axial length - 12.7 ± 0.9 mm and 13 ± 0.68 mm. The mean external ophthalmic artery resistivity values were 0.4305 ± 0.0390 and 0.4258 ± 0.0387 (right and left eye, respectively), characterizing a low resistance. There was no statistical difference between the right and left eyeballs in any of the studied parameters.Discussion: The use of the convex transducer was feasible, promoting adequate contact with the ocular surface and images of satisfactory quality for obtaining measurements, similar to what was observed in studies evaluating the ocular biometry of primates and dogs. The anterior chamber thickness values in this experiment did not differ statistically between the antimers, as well as observed for dogs. The data obtained for lens thickness did not differ statistically for antimers, like those obtained for other rodent species evaluated with the same methodology. The mean values of vitreous chamber thickness were like those observed in chinchillas but correspond to about half of that obtained for capybaras. In this study, the external ophthalmic artery was characterized in all animals, but obtaining the spectral tracing was difficult due to its fine caliber. In wild animals, and especially in wild rodents, there are few data reporting the resistivity of the ophthalmic artery, and there is a lack of studies, which can be explained by the behavioral characteristics of defense and by the high susceptibility to stress in capture, since the performing the technique requires, as in other procedures, the use of chemical containment.Keywords: Doppler flow, ultrasound, eye, agouti

Macroscopic Anatomy, Histopathology, and Image Diagnosis of Joints and Synovial Cartilages

Joints are physiological connections formed by the association of two or more bones that confer mobility to the skeleton of vertebrates. Composed of several structures, these are often related to pathologies of varied origins, which determine symptomatology of varying degrees of intensity and impairment, responsible for the decrease in life expectancy and the well-being of affected populations. Most of the time, the treatment for these diseases is only symptomatic, aiming at the relief of pain and the return of the patient to daily activities. Thus, there has been an increasing interest in the search for new knowledge about the mechanisms that lead to joint disorders and effective therapeutic resources that may contribute to the fight against pain and to the definitive treatment of joint dysfunctions. To this aim, the knowledge of diagnostic methods, especially imaging methods, is of fundamental importance for the recognition of articular affections, enabling a targeted and effective treatment. Among these auxiliary exams currently used to evaluate the joints, the noninvasive ones are the first choice, where radiography, ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography, and arthroscopy are inserted

Standard Electrocardiographic Data of Peccaries (Tayassu tajacu)

Background:Peccaries (Tayassu tajacu, Linnaeus, 1758) are wild suiformes that belong to the Tayassuidae family. Electrocardiography is an important technique for cardiovascular evaluation. Analysis of various intervals, segments, complexes and waveforms of electrocardiographic (ECG) traces aids in the diagnosis of cardiac alterations and in the differentiation of congenital and acquired heart diseases from physiological cases. However, in wild animal medicine, the various patterns of normality and the evaluation of electrical traces associated with heart disease have not yet been sufficiently elucidated. The purpose of this study was to characterize the electrocardiographic (ECG) traces of peccaries sedated using ketamine and xylazine.Materials, Methods & Results:Fourteen healthy adult animals that were subjected to digital ECG examination were used. Animals with evidence of systemic diseases, cardiovascular abnormalities (murmurs or arrhythmias), or any degree of valve insufficiency observed on echocardiogram and animals that exhibited excessive stress during the examination were excluded from the study. All animals presented with a normal sinus rhythm. A combination of 15 mg/kg of ketamine hydrochloride and 3 mg/kg of midazolam maleate was applied intramuscularly for chemical immobilization. The animals were manipulated after 15 min, when the onset of the anaesthetic effect was verified, for a duration of 45 min, and no reinforcement dose was necessary to complete the electrocardiographic examination.  No significant differences were observed in the P-wave duration, PR interval and QT interval between genders (P > 0.05). No significant differences were found between the amplitudes of the P and R waves between males and females (P > 0.05). The observed P waves were small, monophasic and positive. The QRS complex was positive in the DI, DII, DIII, aVF, V4 and V10 derivations and negative in the aVR, aVL, V1 and V2 derivations. In 71% of the animals, the T wave showed negative polarity in the DI, DII, DIII, aVL, aVF, and V10 derivations and positive polarity in the aVR, V1, V2 and V4 derivations. The ST segment was isoelectric in 100% of the animals. GraphPad Prism 7 (La Jolla, CA, USA) software was used to analyze the data, with non-parametric tests used to test for differences in the variables between the sexes. In these tests, a P-value of 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.Discussion:Although studies on the cardiac electrophysiology of wild animals have previously shown good results for several species, this is the first study concerning the standardization ECG traces for peccaries. However, due to the wild nature of these animals, their manipulation for handling and data collection purposes is only feasible under chemical containment, although other studies have used non-anaesthetized agoutis. It is not known to what extent these results may have been influenced by the effects of stress. Drugs used for this function may have direct effects on cardiac function. Therefore, the presumed normal ECG values, as well as the recognition of changes due to drug or iatrogenic interactions, are of fundamental importance.  This protocol provided high-quality anaesthetized peccary ECG traces, allowing reliable measurements of waves and intervals and assessment of the cardiac rhythm and heart rate. The surface registry digital ECG recording technique used with chemical containment allowed good monitoring and rapid acquisition and was well tolerated by the animals. 

Comparative Study of the Vertebral Heart Scale (VHS) and the Cardiothoracic Ratio (CTR) in Healthy Poodle Breed dogs

Background: Veterinary cardiology has been widely divulged, especially because of the search for diagnostic methods that allow early identification of heart disease in companion animals. Several techniques are available, such as digital radiography (DR), computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) that are being applied to patients with various diseases. VHS has been widely used in clinical practice in veterinary medicine as a way to diagnose heart size increases in lateral thoracic radiography in small animals. Cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) is a predictive factor for cardiac insufficiency in humans. In veterinary medicine, this index is still little used. The objective of the present study was to compare the vertebral heart scale (VHS) and cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) to assess changes in the size of the cardiac silhouette dogs in thoracic radiographs.Materials, Methods & Results: The VHS and CTR of forty healthy poodle breed dogs (20 males and 20 females) from University Veterinary Hospital at the Federal University of Piauí were assessed. The animals were placed in supine and lateral decubitus, to obtain radiographic images in dorsoventral (DV) and right and left laterolateral projections of the thoracic region. The images acquired on the photosensitive radiographic chassis were analyzed by digital radiographic image system installed in the Image Diagnosis Service of the University Veterinary Hospital -HVU/UFPI. VHS (Vertebral Heart Scale) measurements were taken using the sum of the heart length and heart width at its greatest diameter, comparing with the vertebral bodies from the fourth thoracic vertebra (T4). The CTR was assessed by comparing the greatest width of the heart silhouette and the distance between the thoracic walls at height T8. The heart width was measured from the two greatest distances (ML and MR), from the vertical line that divides the limit between the right and left sides of the heart, at the point of its greatest diameter. Similarly, the thoracic width was measured at the point of greatest thoracic diameter (MTD). The mean of the VHS and CTR in the males was 9.83 ± 0.85v and 0.48 ± 0.05, respectively. The females showed values of 9.65 ± 0.65v and 0.50 ± 0.03, respectively (P > 0.05). The mean of the VHS and CTR, considering males and females, was 9.72 ± 0.73v and 0.48 ± 0.04, respectively. VHS and weight correlated positively (r = 0.96), as the CTR and weight (r = 0.94). VHS and age showed high correlation (r = 0.96) as CTR and age (r = 0.93). VHS and CTR showed high correlation (r = 0.96).Discussion: Although congenital malformations and genetic diseases can occur, the acquired heart diseases correspond to most of the complications found in dogs. VHS increases considerably 6 to 12 months before the development of congestive heart failure (CHF). The poodles studied, considering the universe of males and females (P < 0.05), presented mean VHS values of 9.72 ± 0.73v. Similarly, there was no significant difference between genders for VHS measured in right and left decubitus in normal dogs. The cardiothoracic ratio measured for the poodles studied showed mean values of 0.48 ± 0.05. In humans, values below 0.5 are considered normal, while values above this may indicate the presence of cardiomegaly. The CTR is intimately related to the volume of the left ventricle and CTR values above 0.5 in humans are pathological. Our results demonstrated that VHS and CTR showed strong correlation in their measurements, suggesting that CTR, constantly used in humans, could be considered as a tool to assess the size of the heart silhouette in dogs of the poodle breed

Prevalência de ansiedade em trabalhadores da fundação dos esportes do Piauí – FUNDESPI / Prevalence of anxiety in workers from the sports foundation of Piauí – FUNDESPI

A ansiedade é uma sensação de emoção desagradável que caracterizam sintomas de tensão muscular e apreensão. De acordo com os fatores físicos, eles estão caracterizados por um alto índice de elevação na ativação do sistema nervoso autônomo, e em relação aos fatores motores, que implicam simplesmente com a mal adaptação de comportamento. O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar nível de ansiedade em trabalhadores da Fundação dos Esportes do Piauí localizada na cidade de Teresina. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, transversal com abordagem quantitativa desenvolvida com 39 trabalhadores. A coleta de dados ocorreu no mês de outubro de 2019, após a aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. Para esta etapa utilizou-se dois instrumentos: questionário sociodemográfico da atividade laboral e hábitos de vida e o Inventário de Ansiedade de Beck. Após a coleta os dados foram tabulados no programa Excel e disposto em tabelas e gráficos. Como resultado constatou-se que trabalhadores de setores administrativos apresentam percentuais expressivos de ansiedade com ênfase para o tipo suave do transtorno mental. A presença destes distúrbios entre os trabalhadores mostrou-se de modo direto associada a tais fatores como: consumo de bebidas estimulantes, prática casualmente de atividade física e poucas horas de sono.

Prevalência de dor lombar na equipe de enfermagem de um hospital estadual / Prevalence of low back pain in the nursing staff of a state hospital

As Lesões por Esforços Repetitivos (LER) e os Distúrbios Osteomusculares Relacionados ao Trabalho (DORT), são síndromes que atingem o sistema músculo esquelético, desencadeadas pelo esgotamento físico das estruturas anatômicas do sistema osteomuscular. O objeto deste estudo foi identificar o perfil das lesões músculo esqueléticas ocasionadas durante o trabalho da enfermagem. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, exploratória, com abordagem quantitativa, realizado por meio de um Questionário Nórdico de Sintomas Osteomusculares (QNSO). A coleta de dados ocorreu em um Hospital Estadual da cidade de Luzilândia- Piauí, com 21 profissionais da equipe de Enfermagem. Quanto aos resultados o perfil sociodemográfico dos entrevistados se caracterizou por profissionais jovens, com média de idade de 33,14 anos, do sexo feminino (90,5%), solteiros (61,9%), de cor parda (81%), com ensino médio completo (71,4%), técnicos de enfermagem (71,4%), com renda mensal que de um a três salários mínimo (95,2%). Sobressaíram os profissionais que não praticavam atividade física, nenhum deles fumam, porém a maioria ingeri bebida alcoólica e café regularmente. O estudo identificou elevada prevalência de LER/DORT em trabalhadores de enfermagem, pois 62% referiram algum sintoma nos últimos doses meses. Esses sintomas representaram frequência e intensidade de dor moderada, principalmente em pessoas de 23 a 29 anos (46,1%), do sexo feminino (92,3%) e técnicos de enfermagem (77%), havendo correlação entre essas variáveis. A dor foi mais prevalente na região lombar, em especial naqueles que trabalha em pé, quando inclinar o tronco, da repetitividade das mãos/dedos, precisão com os dedos, aplicar força com as mãos ou dedos, manipular cargas entre 1-4 kg, manipular cargas superiores a 4 KG, levantar e deslocar cargas entre 10- 20 KG, levantar e deslocar cargas superior a 20 KG e a intensidade da dor a maioria respondeu que muito se relaciona com a intensidade da dor e de forma moderada. Diante do levantamento deste estudo foi possível alcançar o objetivo proposto e identificar alta prevalência do LER/DORT, em especial em profissionais de 23 a 29 anos, técnicos de enfermagem e mulheres, com maior destaque para a região lombar e de moderada intensidade de três a quatro vezes na semana

B-Mode and Doppler Ocular Ultrasound Evaluation in Healthy and Positive Dogs for Visceral Canine Leishmaniasis

Background: The use of ultrasound examination in the evaluation of ophthalmopathies has been gaining more and more space within the ophthalmologic clinical routine. The hemodynamic study of ocular vascularization may anticipate future changes, aiding in the adequate establishment of therapeutic conduits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the structures of the ocular bulb and to perform the hemodynamic evaluation of the flow of the external ophthalmic artery of dogs with canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) correlating with healthy animals.Materials, Methods & Results: For this purpose, 100 animals were used, of these 70 positive for CVL and 30 healthy animals, submitted to B-mode and Doppler ultrasound examination. Two-dimensional evaluation included identification of ocular changes and biometry of the following segments: axial length (M1), anterior chamber depth (M2), lens thickness (M3), lens length (M4), glass chamber depth (M5), optical disc length (M6) and optic nerve length (M7). The Doppler velocimetric evaluation included the identification and hemodynamic evaluation of the external ophthalmic artery, being measured: systolic peak velocity (SPV), final diastolic velocity (FDV), resistivity index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI). Ophthalmopathies were frequent in animals with leishmaniasis in both right (91.42%) and left (29.14%) eyes, with identification of capsular cataract, lens dislocation, retinal detachment and lens rupture. No significant statistical difference (P > 0.05) was observed when comparing the biometric values between the right and left eyes of the animals with CVL, as well as for the measurements between healthy and CVL animals. Hemodynamic indexes of the flow of the external ophthalmic artery presented narrow limits for the right and left eyes of the positive animals, not statistically different from each other. However, a significant difference was observed when compared to hemodynamic evaluations of the flow of the ophthalmic artery between the right eyes of the group of normal animals and that of the carriers of leishmaniasis, with the latter presenting values superior to the first one. The B-mode and Doppler ultrasonographic evaluation enabled the morphological characterization of the ocular bulb, the identification of ophthalmopathies and the hemodynamic evaluation of the external ophthalmic artery of dogs with canine visceral leishmaniasis, establishing values that could be used in clinical ophthalmologic routine.Discussion: The presence of ocular changes diagnosed by B-mode ultrasonography were common in dogs with canine visceral leishmaniasis. Ocular lesions were observed in 80.5% of dogs with leishmaniasis, presenting a high frequency, corroborating with the results in the present research. In 22% of the animals, B-mode ultrasonographic lesions were identified in both eyes, 64 of these presented changes only in the right eye and 16 in the left eye. Ophthalmopathies can be uni or bilateral and cause more than one alteration in the same eye, resulting from both the immune-mediated mechanisms caused by the agent and direct parasitism. Although the literature reports that the highest frequency of lesions is bilateral, only 16 animals had alterations in both eyes. The origin of ophthalmopathies may be related to the species and tropism of the parasite, type and duration of the immune response developed by the host. The greater frequency of bilateral ophthalmopathies can have correlation with the systemic disease, in which in the initial stages of the disease only one eye is affected and the occurrence of bilateral manifestations is related to the chronic cases

Cardiothoracic ratio and vertebral heart size (VHS) to standardize the heart size of the tufted capuchin (Cebus apella Linnaeus, 1758) in computerized radiographic images

Abstract: The VHS and CTR were assessed using computerized thoracic radiographs of ten clinically healthy tufted capuchin monkeys (five males and five females) from the Wild Animal Screening Center in São Luís (Centro de Triagem de Animais Silvestres de São Luís-MA-CETAS). Radiographs were taken in laterolateral and dorsoventral projections to calculate the cardiothoracic ratio (VHS) and vertebral heart size (CTR). The VHS showed mean values of 9.34±0.32v (males) and 9.16±0.34v (females) and there was no statistical difference between males and females (p>0.05). The CTR showed mean values of 0.55±0.04 (males) and 0.52±0.03 (females) and there was no statistical difference between the sexes (p>0.05). There was positive correlation between VHS and CTR (r=0.78). The thoracic and heart diameters showed mean values of 5.70±0.48cm and 2.16±0.40cm in the males, respectively. In the females they measured 5.32±0.39cm and 2.94±0.32cm. There was no statistical difference between the sexes. Our results show that the high correlation found between VHS and CTR permitted the verification with similar clinical precision between the two methods to estimate alterations in the heart silhouette by radiographic examination of tufted capuchin, making it an easy technique to apply that can be considered in the investigation of heart problems for this wild species

Electrocardiographic Pattern of Agoutis (Dasyprocta prymnolopha) Chemically Contained by the Association of Ketamine and Xylazine

Background: The agouti (Dasyprocta prymnolopha, Wagler, 1831) is an existing wild rodent in almost all of Brazil, used as a biological model in several scientific studies. Veterinary cardiology has showed great advances in the diagnostic area due to the possibility of cardiac evaluation by non-invasive methods. For the practice of scientific or handling procedures in wild animals, chemical containment is essential. Thus, it is important to know the effect of anesthetic protocols on the cardiovascular system, observed through complementary tests, such as the electrocardiogram. The objective of this study was to describe the computerized electrocardiographic tracing of agoutis chemically contained by the association of Ketamine and Xylazine.Materials, Methods & Results: Eighteen male and female clinically healthy animals, aged among 2 years, submitted to digital electrocardiographic examination, were used. The device used to obtain the tracing was the veterinary electrocardiograph (Electrocardiogram Acquisition Module for Computer) - Brazilian Electronic Technology (TEB). The analysis was always made from derivation II (DII). Chemical containment was performed by the combination of Ketamine and Xylazine, intramuscularly. The results showed that the heart rate for males was on average 113.25 bpm, while for females the value of 124.60 bpm was observed, and there was no significant difference between the genders (P > 0.05). The mean weight of males was 2.31 kg and for females 2.28 kg; there was no statistical difference for this variable (P > 0.05). For the QRS duration of 46.14 ± 5.05 ms (males) and 44.66 ± 5.94 ms (females) and PR interval of 79.94 ± 12.01ms (males) and 84.29 ± 12.37ms (females), there was no statistical difference (P > 0.05). The amplitude of the R wave of 0.42 ± 0.31 mV (males) and 0.36 ± 0.22 mV (females) showed no statistical difference (P > 0.05). The T wave showed itself both negative (10 animals) and positive (8 animals), with amplitude measured at 0.24 ± 0.16 mV for males and 0.25 ± 0.10 mV for females (P > 0.05). The anesthetic protocol was well tolerated by the animals of this experiment, and there were no episodes of arrhythmias during the time of their monitoring.Discussion: Wild animals, in general, need chemical containment, with a view to reducing stress during scientific and handling procedures. The protocols established in this work can be used in future experiments which require a longer handling time. The values found for heart rate (HR) of anesthetized agoutis were lower than those for non-anesthetized agoutis, proving the influence of the stress during retention and the depressant cardiovascular effect of the anesthetic drug used. The electrocardiographic parameters and the tracing morphology of the agoutis were like the results found for anesthetized small rodents. The QT interval was higher in males than in females, justifying the fact that it could be influenced by variations in HR, which also showed superior results for males. Taking into consideration the morphological similarity between different individuals, the QT interval in anesthetized agoutis did not present significant differences between the genders, a characteristic also found in ferrets. The animals of this experiment were submitted to food fasting, a fact that contributed to a better standardization of the experiment, preventing alterations in the morphology of the QRS complex, which could lead to changes in the measurements