Search

The capacity of bone to organize and reorganize its structure in response to changing mechanical demands is well recognized. However, the mechanism by which the changing mechanical environment is detected, and the means by which this information is translated into a stimulus for structural modification, are not understood. A group of substances suggested to be involved in the initial transduction of strain information are the prostaglandins. In this experiment we used a single period of dynamic loading to stimulate an adaptive osteogenic response in vivo. Loading was performed in the presence and absence of indomethacin. Measurements of the periosteum 5 days after loading showed that the presence of indomethacin at the time of loading reduced the osteogenic response. Though consistent with the hypothesis that prostaglandins are involved in the initial transduction of tissue strain into a biochemical response, this result is not sufficient to demonstrate this conclusively because reduced prostaglandin levels during the 24 hours immediately after the period of loading may affect many other points in the cascade of events between strain transduction and adaptive new bone formation. Furthermore, indomethacin at the relatively high levels we used (40 mg/kg) may have effects other than those on prostaglandin synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace learning (WPL) is seen as an essential component of clinical veterinary education by the veterinary profession. This study sought to understand this type of learning experience more deeply. This was done utilising observations of students on intramural rotations (IMR) and interviews with students and clinical staff. WPL was seen as an opportunity for students to apply knowledge and develop clinical and professional skills in what is generally regarded as a safe, authentic environment. Clinical staff had clear ideas of what they expected from students in terms of interest, engagement, professionalism, and active participation, where this was appropriate. In contrast, students often did not know what to expect and sometimes felt under-prepared when entering the workplace, particularly in a new species area. With the support of staff acting as mentors, students learned to identify gaps in their knowledge and skills, which could then be addressed during specific IMR work placements. Findings such as these illustrate both the complexities of WPL and the diversity of different workplace settings encountered by the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veterinary schools in the UK are required by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to ensure that their students have attained essential 'Day one' skills (DOS) by graduation. To aid students' understanding of how they could satisfy this requirement, the Royal Veterinary College produced a DOS guide, which was distributed in the 2007 to 2008 academic year to students in the third and fourth years of the professional veterinary course. The same students were surveyed towards the end of the 2008 to 2009 session about the guide, when they were in the fourth and final years, to rate its usefulness and to indicate their perceived levels of competence, both currently and expected at graduation. Focus group discussions were subsequently conducted to explore the findings of the survey. Responses from 88 fourth-year (39 per cent) and 174 (87 per cent) final-year students revealed that while almost all respondents were aware of the DOS guide, their use of it was low. Final-year students rated themselves as being more competent than fourth-year students, but were less optimistic about their expected level of competence regarding several invasive procedures, which some students considered to be 'unattainable' by graduation, despite the apparent value of extramural studies and intramural rotations in providing opportunities for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: We surveyed delegates at the Group of Anaesthetists in Training (UK) meeting to investigate evidence of a training-gap (number of fibreoptic intubations believed to bestow competence vs. number actually performed). Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to and collected from delegates in person. Questions covered six areas, including experience of fibreoptic intubation and cricothyrotomy, fibreoptic intubation as a specialist skill and ethical issues. Results: We received 221 replies (76%). All trainees believed competence to be achievable with 10 intubations (interquartile range (IQR) 10-20); the median number performed was 2 (IQR 0-4). This was statistically significant for the groups senior house officers, 1st and 2nd year registrars and 3rd and 4th year registrars; P < 0.0001. Many final year trainees (12/20, 60%) also failed to achieve their competency target. Few trainees had seen or performed any cricothyrotomies (medians 0, IQRs 0-1 and 0-0). Most (195/208, 94%) believed that fibreoptic intubation was a core skill and 199/212 (94%) believed that all should be competent by completion of training. Ten percent (n = 208) felt it unethical to perform an awake training intubation with full consent and 10% believed it acceptable without explanation. Most (82.7%) would fibreoptically intubate an asleep patient (requiring intubation) without consent. Conclusion: Trainees reported a gap between their perception of competence and achievement in awake fibreoptic intubation. Simple and complex simulations and structured training programmes may help. Anaesthetists must address the ethics of clinical training in advanced airway management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare ulnar trochlear notch bone radiopacity in Labrador retrievers with and without fragmented medial coronoid process using quantitative analysis of film density on digitised radiographs. Methods: Mediolateral view elbow radiographs from Labrador retrievers (n=34) aged between six and 18 months were obtained and digitised. Images from dogs with an arthroscopic diagnosis of fragmentation of the medial coronoid process (n=17) were compared with that of a control population (n=17), and this data subject to statistical analysis. Results: A statistically significant relationship between the presence of increased trochlear notch radiopacity and a fragmented medial coronoid process was identified. Fractional analysis of this area shows the region of greatest difference in radiopacity between normal and fragmented medial coronoid process cohorts to be in the trochlear region of the medial coronoid process of the ulna. A decrease in radiopacity values in the dysplastic group versus the normal cohort was observed for the region of the proximo-caudal ulnar trochlear notch. Clinical Significance: An increase in ulnar trochlear notch radiopacity is a finding associated with fragmentation of the medial coronoid process in Labrador retrievers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six medium to large breed dogs with osteoarthritis were treated with 2 mg/kg of racemic carprofen, mixed with their morning feed, daily for 28 days. The treatment significantly (P<0.01) reduced their mean lameness score, measured on a visual analogue scale, and there was a trend (P=0.1 1) for the peak vertical forces exerted on a forceplate to be increased in the most severely affected limb. The plasma concentration-time relationships of the S(+) and R(−) enantiomers were studied for 24 hours after the first dose and after seven days and 28 days. There were no significant differences between the mean pharmacokinetic parameters measured on the three occasions, suggesting that carprofen was not accumulated and that tolerance to the drug did not develop. Although the pharmacokinetic parameters of the S(+) and R(−) enantiomers were generally very similar, there were wide variations both between and within dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The bisphosphonate drug alendronate was used to suppress bone remodelling and tumour osteolysis as a palliative treatment for two dogs with osteosarcoma, one of the tibia and one of the maxilla. A spiral fracture associated with the tibial tumour healed after it was stabilised with an external skeletal fixator. Both dogs remained comfortable and survived for 12 and 10 months respectively after diagnosis, despite the fact that neither primary tumour was resected. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Methicillin-resistant infection was identified in 11 dogs. The infection was associated with surgical treatment, especially orthopaedic surgery. Infection after traumatic wounding, and recurrent pyoderma was also seen. Oral antibiotic treatment improved or resolved the infection in nine of the 11 dogs, although the methicillin-resistant isolates were susceptible to relatively few antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes an investigation to evaluate the properties and uses of the different casting materials available for small animals. After a consideration of the properties that make an ‘ideal cast’, clinically relevant tests were performed on tubular casts of the various products. No single product demonstrated consistent superiority by all the criteria. All the products tested can be useful in a variety of situations, and suggestions for their uses are set out. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Both ulnas of skeletally mature roosters ( Gallus domesticus) were deprived of functional load bearing by proximal and distal submetaphyseal osteotomies. Twenty-four hours later the animals were injected with 1.5 mCi ofH-uridine and the ulna on one side was subjected to a single period of a cyclical load engendering physiological strain levels at 1 Hz for 6 min. Twenty-fours after loading the animals were killed. Autoradiographic examination of comparable regions of cortex in sections from the bones' midshafts showed that in the loaded bones, 72±2.7% of osteocytes were labeled compared with 12±3.5% in the corresponding areas of their contralateral nonloaded pair ( P<0.001). The number of grains per labeled osteocyte was also higher in the loaded side (6±0.5 compared with 4±0.5, P<0.01). There was no obvious correlation between the longitudinal strain distribution during artificial loading and the distribution of labeled osteocytes throughout the bone cross-section. However, previous long-term experiments using a similar loading preparation had consistently shown the site of most periosteal new bone formation to also not be directly related to the local strain magnitude. Perhaps it is significant that the greatest percentage of labeled cells were found in the cortex where the long-term experiments had shown most new bone formation to subsequently occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both ulnas of skeletally mature roosters (Gallus domesticus) were deprived of functional load bearing by proximal and distal submetaphyseal osteotomies. Twenty-four hours later the animals were injected with 1.5 mCi of 3H-uridine and the ulna on one side was subjected to a single period of a cyclical load engendering physiological strain levels at 1 Hz for 6 min. Twenty-four hours after loading the animals were killed. Autoradiographic examination of comparable regions of cortex in sections from the bone's midshafts showed that in the loaded bones, 72 +/- 2.7% of osteocytes were labeled compared with 12 +/- 3.5% in the corresponding areas of their contralateral nonloaded pair (P less than 0.001). The number of grains per labeled osteocyte was also higher in the loaded side (6 +/- 0.5 compared with 4 +/- 0.5, P less than 0.01). There was no obvious correlation between the longitudinal strain distribution during artificial loading and the distribution of labeled osteocytes throughout the bone cross-section. However, previous long-term experiments using a similar loading preparation had consistently shown the site of most periosteal new bone formation to also not be directly related to the local strain magnitude. Perhaps it is significant that the greatest percentage of labeled cells were found in the cortex where the long-term experiments had shown most new bone formation to subsequently occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten labrador retrievers and their owners undertook a programme to determine the effect of passive stretching on the dogs' osteoarthritic joints, which had a restricted range of motion. The range of motion of the joints was measured before and after the 21-day study, during which the owners performed 10 passive stretches for a hold of 10 seconds twice daily. Goniometric measurements showed that the passive stretching had significantly increased the range of motion of the joints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor and response by I. Hodzovic, et al. on the article about the comparison of simulated difficult intubation with multiple-use and single-use bougies previously published in the 'Anaesthesia' journal.