Förekomst av postoperativa sårinfektioner efter ovariehysterektomi på friska tikar

Ovariehysterektomi (OHE) är ett rutiningrepp på djurkliniker och är det vanligaste ingreppet för att kastrera tikar. Liksom vid alla kirurgiska ingrepp är postoperativa sårinfektioner en komplikationsrisk och observeras hos 2,2-5,7 % av patienterna. (Adin 2011) Syftet med detta examensarbete i djuromvårdnad var att undersöka infektionsförekomsten efter elektiv OHE på universitetsdjursjukhuset (UDS) och att jämföra resultatet med andra studier av infektionsförekomst. Att undersöka infektionsförekomst är viktigt för att upptäcka orsaker till ökad infektionsrisk, för att kunna åtgärda brister och förebygga risken för framtida postoperativa sårinfektioner. För att undersöka infektionsförekomsten studerades journaler för de tikar som genomgått OHE på UDS mellan 2010 och 2016 retrospektivt. Kriterier för att ingå i studien var att ingreppet var elektivt, att tikarna inte fick antibiotika perioperativt och inte genomgick flera ingrepp samtidigt. Sammanlagt 109 journaler kom att ingå i studien. Två av de 109 tikarna (1,8 %) fick enligt journalerna en postoperativ sårinfektion, vilket var något lägre än resultatet i liknande studier av infektionsförekomst. Dokumenterad uppföljning saknades hos majoriteten av patienterna (57,8 %). Det saknades en standardiserad definition av postoperativ sårinfektion, vilket utgjorde en felkälla och försvårade jämförelser mellan studier. Bristande information i journalerna gjorde att det inte gick att undersöka samband mellan riskfaktorer och postoperativa sårinfektioner. Journalerna innehöll dock mer utförlig information över tid under åren 2014-2016 än under åren 2010-2013 för anestesitid och antal personer i operationssalen, en trend som kan vara relaterad till skärpt lagstiftning gällande vilken utbildningsnivå som krävs för att behandla djur under allmän anestesi. Tillförlitlighet till resultatet saknades då postoperativa sårinfektioner inte kunde uteslutas hos de patienter som inte följdes upp. Retrospektiva studier kan vara att föredra framför prospektiva studier för att på begränsad tid studera information gällande ett stort antal patienter. Förutsättningen för att kunna använda denna metod är dock korrekt journalföring. För att få tillförlitliga resultat bör patienterna följas upp och en standardiserad definition för bedömning av postoperativa sårinfektioner användas.Ovariohysterectomy (OHE) is a routine procedure at animal clinics and it is the most common method to castrate bitches. As with all surgical procedures, surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the complication risks, and the prevalence of SSIs are observed to be between 2,2 -5,7 %. (Adin 2011) The objective of the present study in the veterinary nursing program was to investigate the prevalence of SSIs after elective OHE at the Swedish veterinary teaching hospital (UDS) and to compare the result with those in similar studies. To study the prevalence of SSIs is important in order to discover the underlying reasons for SSIs, and to be able to address these and prevent the risks for future SSIs. To investigate the prevalence of SSIs, medical records for bitches undergoing OHE at UDS during the years 2010- 2016 were studied retrospectively. Inclusion criteria for the study were that the procedure was elective, that bitches were not given antibiotics perioperatively, and that other surgical procedures were not performed during the same procedure. In all, 109 medical records were studied. Two of the 109 bitches (1,8 %) were according to the medical records diagnosed with SSIs, which is somewhat lower than the results in similar studies. There were no documented follow-ups for the majority of the patients (57,8 %). There was a lack of standardised definition of SSIs, which made a correct comparison with other studies difficult. Due to the lack of information in the medical records, potential risk factors could not be related to SSIs. The medical records contained more information during the years 2014-2016 than during 2010-2013 regarding duration of anaesthesia and number of persons present at the operation theatre, a trend that could be related to sharpened legislation regarding the level of education required for treating animals under general anaesthesia. Reliability of the results is low, as SSIs cannot be discounted for those patients that were not followed up. Retrospective studies are to be preferred to prospective studies when the aim is to study information for a large number of patients during a limited time. To be able to use this method, however, it is required that medical records are kept correctly. Furthermore, to get reliable results patients ought to be followed up, and a standardised definition for evaluation of SSIs should be used

Identifiering av ansiktsuttryck relaterade till positiva känslotillstånd hos hund

Positive emotional states have not been studied in animals to any higher extent, but are of great importance in contributing to welfare research. Emotions are to a high degree reflected in facial expressions. The aim of this study was to investigate detailed facial expressions, in order to find indicators of positive emotional states in subtle changes of facial expressions in dogs. This was done by trying to induce dogs to a positive emotional state by presenting two kinds of stimuli presumed to be of positive valence to the dogs, the face of a familiar human talking to the dog in a friendly voice, and a presumed preferred food item consisting of a meatball. Additionally, a wooden block acting as a neutral or slightly negative stimulus was presented, and a small food pellet, assumed to be of neutral valence and used as a baseline stimulus. The dogs were standing in a cubicle and the face of the dogs was recorded five seconds before and five seconds after the different stimuli were revealed. The facial expressions analysed were lip licking, mouth opening and gaze direction. Nine dogs were used in the study and each dog was presented with a sequence of stimuli six times. One-zero sampling was used, with one second intervals. A matched block design was applied, and the test was balanced for the order of stimuli presentations and for morning and afternoon. The results were compared with paired t-tests in three different ways. The lip licking behaviour was assumed to have different meanings depending on how it was performed and which stimulus was presented. The Face stimulus elicited most lip lickings, and investigations showed that the category that was dominant when the Face was presented was the lip lickings not reaching the corner of the mouth. Among these, lip lickings front/up were the most frequent. The lip lickings not reaching the corner of the mouth were probably mostly due to communicative responses, most likely signalling submissive behaviours, but could also indicate displays of positive emotions, or both. The lip lickings observed when the Meatball was presented, on the other hand, could be expected to be a grooming behaviour, consisting of lip lickings reaching the corner of the mouth, due to the sight or smell of food, or the anticipation of it. The Meatball provoked no special changes in facial features, presumably because of the difficulties in detecting non-communicative responses. The mouth opening behaviour had similar results to that of the total lip lickings, and could also be interpreted as a communicative response or an interrupted lip licking. The gaze towards stimuli was difficult to interpret since the different tests were not in accordance with each other, but a tendency towards less gazing at the neutral or slightly negative stimulus was observed in one test. The two assumed positive stimuli did not provoke any general behaviour, which suggests that there is a need to have separate indicators for communicative and non-communicative behaviours. Furthermore, dog behaviours are often ambiguous and should be seen in an environmental context and with other facial expressions and body language included. Further analyses of additional facial expressions, body postures and tail wagging, also recorded during the experiment, will hopefully lead to a higher understanding of the expressions of positive emotions in dogs