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Thirty-one dogs were randomised to receive intermittent wound infusion of bupivacaine or saline after surgery. Wound pressure sensitivity, pain scores, body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, analgesic drugs administered, time to walking and time to eating after surgery were recorded. Plasma bupivacaine concentrations were measured. The relative frequency distributions of the non-interventional and interventional pain scores, but not the relative frequency distributions of palpation pain scores or wound pressure sensitivity, were significantly different between groups following surgery. There was a significant difference between groups in the time to eating and in the amount and timing of analgesic drugs administered. Measured plasma bupivacaine concentrations demonstrated systemic absorption of the drug. Bupivacaine infusion into surgical wounds after surgery may improve post-operative recovery, but no effect on wound tenderness was demonstrated in this study., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate effects of IV administration of dextrose on coagulation in healthy dogs., Animals: 7 dogs., Procedures: Thromboelastography and coagulation panel analysis were used to assess coagulation. Samples (S1 through S9) were collected during the study phases: phase 0 (S1 [baseline]); phase 1 (S2 and S3), infusion of crystalloid fluid without dextrose; phase 2 (S4 and S5), high-rate dextrose infusion; phase 3 (S6, S7, and S8), moderate-rate dextrose infusion; and phase 4 (S9), discontinuation of fluids for 24 hours. In phase 3, dogs were allocated to 2 groups; 1 was administered dextrose at a rate comparable to total parental nutrition (40% of resting energy requirement; group A), and 1 was administered dextrose at rates equaling 70% to 90% of resting energy requirement (group B). Blood glucose concentration was measured every 2 hours., Results: No dogs had clinically relevant sustained hyperglycemia. Maximum amplitude and elastic shear modulus were significantly lower at S6 than at S1 through S4. Concentration of D-dimer was significantly higher at S6 than at S1, S3, and S4 and significantly higher at S5 than at S3. Prothrombin time was significantly prolonged at S3, S5, S7, S8, and S9, compared with the value at S1. Activated partial thromboplastin time was significantly prolonged at S5 and S6, compared with values at S1, S2, S3, S4, and S9., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: IV administration of dextrose to healthy dogs at rates comparable to or higher than those for conventional parenteral nutrition resulted in mild but clinically unimportant interference with coagulation.

Urinary catheter placement in dogs may be necessary for certain surgical procedures or for treatment of certain conditions. This column describes the vaginoscopic placement of an indwelling female urinary catheter and possible complications of catheter placement.

Hundreds of thousands of animals are presented to US veterinarians annually for surgery or for evaluation of painful disease. This large population offers the opportunity for clinical research of both acute and chronic pain syndromes. Although there is growing interest by veterinary clinical specialists to explore the nature of animal pain and how best to treat it, this resource is relatively unknown to the pain research community. Computer-assisted collection of behavioral data has created new opportunities for characterizing the pain experience in animal species for the benefit of both animals and humans. This review describes the current state of veterinary clinical pain studies in dogs and an application of computer-assisted behavioral analysis.

Two dogs were presented to North Carolina State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital following blunt trauma to the head delivered by a horse kick. On presentation, both dogs had resolving clinical signs directly related to the head trauma, but both also had compromise to their upper airway as a result of indirect injury to the soft tissues of the neck, visible on plain radiographs. One dog made a full recovery following a period of assisted ventilation. The other dog was euthanized at the request of the owner. These injuries illustrate the importance of evaluating the cervical spine and soft tissues of the neck following blunt trauma to the head.

Background: No treatment other than platelet administration is known to protect against spontaneous hemorrhage in thrombocytopenic dogs. Objectives: Primary: determine if treatment with ε‐aminocaproic acid (EACA) decreases the requirement for blood transfusions and improves outcome in dogs with severe thrombocytopenia. Secondary: find evidence of hyperfibrinolysis and determine the effect EACA administration on rapid (rTEG) and tissue plasminogen activator‐spiked (tPA‐rTEG) thromboelastography parameters. Animals: Twenty‐seven dogs with severe thrombocytopenia were treated with EACA, and data from an additional 33 were obtained from the hospital database as historical control (HC) cohort. Methods: Single arm clinical trial with HCs. The EACA group dogs received EACA (100 mg/kg IV followed by a constant‐rate infusion [CRI] of 400 mg/kg/24 hours). Thromboelastography before and during EACA infusion, hospitalization days, number of transfusions, and mortality were compared. Results: No difference was found in number of transfusions per dog (median, interquartile range; 1, 0‐2.5 vs 0.9, 0‐2; P =.5) and hospitalization days (4, 4‐6 vs 4.5, 3.75‐6; P =.83) between HC and EACA groups, respectively, and no difference in survival was identified by log‐rank analysis (P =.15). Maximum amplitude on both rTEG and tPA‐rTEG increased after EACA administration (rTEG baseline: 23.6, 9.6‐38.9; post‐EACA: 27.3, 19.8‐43.2; P <.001; tPA‐rTEG baseline: 23, 10.9‐37.2; post‐EACA: 24.7, 16.7‐44.8; P <.002). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Although EACA increased clot strength, there was no effect on outcome. Treatment with EACA at this dosage cannot be recommended as a routine treatment but may be considered for dogs with severe ongoing hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To compare the distribution of flow from two commercial and one handmade multihole wound infusion catheters. Study design Open label experimental measurement of flow distribution in a bench top apparatus of handmade ( n = 10) and two commercial ( n = 10 each) wound infusion catheters with 5-6″ (12-15.2 cm) long diffusion surfaces. Methods The distribution of 6 mL of distilled water injected at three different injection speeds (0.5, 5, and 120 minutes) through individual triangular pieces of felt cloth fitted over six contiguous regions of the diffusion surface of each catheter was measured in triplicate. Results The distribution of flow through the six regions was significantly more uniform at the two faster injection speeds. Ninety two per cent of the 120 minute infusion trials resulted in one or more regions producing negligible flow (<5% of total output), and in 16% of the 120 minute trials all the flow came from just one or two regions. Conclusions Constant-rate infusions of 3 mL hour−1 provide erratic distribution of flow from wound infusion catheters in a bench top apparatus. Commercial catheters did not outperform handmade catheters. Clinical relevance Uneven distribution of flow at low infusion speeds may contribute to inconsistent or unsatisfactory pain relief in patients treated with continuous wound infusions of local anesthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective– Compare the effects of 3 anticoagulation protocols on anti-factor Xa activity (AXa). Design– Prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Setting– University veterinary teaching hospital. Animals– Eighteen dogs considered to be at risk for venous thrombosis. Interventions– Each dog was randomly assigned to 1 of the following 3 groups ( n=6/group) and was treated for 24 hours: low-dose heparin (LDH), high-dose heparin (HDH), and dalteparin (DP). Dogs in the LDH group received a constant rate infusion (CRI) of unfractionated heparin (UFH) at 300 U/kg/d, the HDH group received a bolus of 100 U/kg of UFH IV, then a CRI of 900 U/kg/day, and the DP group received 100 U/kg DP SC at 0, 12, and 24 hours. Measurements and Main Results– A total of 54 samples for activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and AXa assays were collected at 0, 4, and 28 hours. Six samples had an AXa >0.1 U/mL, 5 of those were from the HDH group at hour 4. Two samples from the HDH group at hour 4 had a prolonged aPTT (93 and 200 seconds) and the highest AXa (0.6 and 1.0 U/mL, respectively). Four additional dogs in the HDH group did not complete the study due to hemorrhage; none of the dogs completing the study showed signs of hemorrhage. Conclusions: Neither DP nor LDH increased AXa to values considered therapeutic in humans (0.5–1 and 0.35–0.75 U/mL, respectively), and both protocols appear to be inadequate to increase AXa in dogs with clinical illness. HDH increased AXa to this range in 2 of 6 dogs, but had unpredictable effects on aPTT and resulted in hemorrhage in some dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]