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Despite recent advancements in antibiotics, hygienic measures, and peri-operative systemic antibiotics, post-operative infections in osteosynthesis remain prevalent and continue to be among the most common surgical complications, leading to delayed fracture healing, osteomyelitis, implant loosening, and loss of function. Osteosynthesis implants are routinely utilized in veterinary medicine and the current study investigates the microbial colonization of implants following osteosynthesis in small animals, along with its incidence and influencing factors. The results are analyzed in regard to correlations between infection, patient, disease progression, and radiographic images, as well as other factors that may promote infection. Seventy-one explants from sixty-five patients were examined and evaluated for microbial colonization. Factors like body weight and age, location and type of plate and additional injuries like lung lesions, the surgeon’s experience, or the number of people present during the surgical procedure seem to influence the development of an infection. Of the animals, 60% showed osteolytic changes and 73.3% of those with dysfunctional mobility had an implant infection. Microorganisms were detected in almost 50% of the explants, but a clinically relevant infection was only present in five patients (7.3%), suggesting that the presence of microorganisms on an implant does not necessarily lead to treatment complications.

Indications for implant removal after fracture healing are still under debate in both human and veterinary medicine. Although hardware removal is a common procedure, it should not be undertaken lightly. Intra and post-operative complications are common and a thorough evaluation of the risks and benefits should be performed. This review aimed to collect and summarise published data on the indications for implant removal in small animals, compare the collected data with human and equine medicine, and investigate the existence of guidelines for this purpose. There is no international consensual agreement for implant removal after fracture healing, neither in small animals nor in human orthopaedics. Decision-making processes are still controversial in some scenarios, thus clear evidence-based protocols for implant removal are needed.

Simple Summary: Despite medical advancements, post-operative infections in osteosynthesis remain common, causing complications like delayed healing and implant failure. Investigating microbial colonization after surgery in small animals, this study aims to understand infection rates and influencing factors. Results from 71 explants show correlations between infection, patient characteristics, and surgical variables. Notably, factors like body weight, implant type, and additional injuries impact infection development. Surprisingly, while microorganisms were present in nearly half of the cases, only 7.3% led to clinical complications. These findings highlight the complexity of post-operative infections and suggest that microbial presence does not always lead to complications, offering insights for improved treatment strategies in veterinary medicine, potentially reducing patient suffering and healthcare costs. Despite recent advancements in antibiotics, hygienic measures, and peri-operative systemic antibiotics, post-operative infections in osteosynthesis remain prevalent and continue to be among the most common surgical complications, leading to delayed fracture healing, osteomyelitis, implant loosening, and loss of function. Osteosynthesis implants are routinely utilized in veterinary medicine and the current study investigates the microbial colonization of implants following osteosynthesis in small animals, along with its incidence and influencing factors. The results are analyzed in regard to correlations between infection, patient, disease progression, and radiographic images, as well as other factors that may promote infection. Seventy-one explants from sixty-five patients were examined and evaluated for microbial colonization. Factors like body weight and age, location and type of plate and additional injuries like lung lesions, the surgeon's experience, or the number of people present during the surgical procedure seem to influence the development of an infection. Of the animals, 60% showed osteolytic changes and 73.3% of those with dysfunctional mobility had an implant infection. Microorganisms were detected in almost 50% of the explants, but a clinically relevant infection was only present in five patients (7.3%), suggesting that the presence of microorganisms on an implant does not necessarily lead to treatment complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A patellar luxation and concomitant cranial cruciate ligament rupture is a common pathology in dogs. Diagnosis is based on clinical evidence of a patellar luxation and stifle joint instability. However, diagnostic imaging is required to assess the number of skeletal deformities and signs of instability. Surgical options include both soft tissue and osseous techniques, although, in most cases, a combination of multiple procedures is necessary to correct the patellar luxation and restore the stifle joint stability. Complication rates are generally low, but can include reluxation and implant-associated complications. This article describes the patellar luxation and cranial cruciate ligament rupture signs in dogs, including the clinical presentation and diagnosis, and discusses current treatment options.

Brunnberg et al. establish a protocol that enables them to optically control translocation of the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP), which plays a role in delivering proteasomal degradation products into the ER lumen. Their versatile approach provides insights into TAP function in the context of peptide-loading complex and stable peptide-MHC I complex trafficking in living cells, but has the potential to be applied to the investigation of other pathways.

For CNS lymphomas (CNSL), there is a high need for minimally invasive and easily obtainable diagnostic markers. Intrathecal IgM synthesis can easily be determined in routine CSF diagnostics. The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the diagnostic potential of intrathecal IgM synthesis in primary and secondary CNSL (PCNSL and SCNSL). In this retrospective study, patients with a biopsy‐proven diagnosis of PCNSL or SCNSL were compared with patients with other neurological diseases in whom CNSL was initially the primary radiological differential diagnosis based on MRI. Sensitivity and specificity of intrathecal IgM synthesis were calculated using receiver operating characteristic curves. Seventy patients with CNSL were included (49 PCNSL and 21 SCNSL) and compared to 70 control patients. The sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of CNSL were 49% and 87%, respectively, for the entire patient population and 66% and 91% after selection for cases with tumor access to the CSF system and isolated intrathecal IgM synthesis. In cases with MRI‐based radiological suspicion of CNSL, intrathecal IgM synthesis has good specificity but limited sensitivity. Because of its low‐threshold availability, analysis of intrathecal IgM synthesis has the potential to lead to higher diagnostic accuracy, especially in resource‐limited settings, and deserves further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) are common in autologous (auto-HSCT) or allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) recipients. However, the impact of CDI on patient outcomes is controversial. We conducted this study to examine the impact of CDI on patient outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective single-center study, including 191 lymphoma patients receiving an auto-HSCT and 276 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients receiving an allo-HSCT. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints were causes of death and, for the allo-HSCT cohort, GvHD- and relapse-free survival (GRFS). Results: The prevalence of CDI was 17.6% in the AML allo-HSCT and 7.3% in the lymphoma auto-HSCT cohort. A higher prevalence of bloodstream infections, but no differences concerning OS or cause of death were found for patients with CDI in the auto-HSCT cohort. [AU] In the allo-HSCT cohort, OS and GRFS were similar between CDI and non-CDI patients. However, the leading cause of death was relapse among non-CDI patients, but it was infectious diseases in the CDI group with fewer deaths due to relapse. Conclusions: CDI was not associated with worse survival in patients receiving a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and there were even fewer relapse-related deaths in the AML allo-HSCT cohort.

Concomitant cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR) is a common complication in small breed dogs with patellar luxation (PL) with an elusive pathogenesis. Surgical treatment is available and commonly includes remodelling osteotomies. While these modern techniques have shown good functional results, access is limited due to the high costs for owners and the need for special surgical equipment. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the frequency and risk factors for concomitant CCLR in small breed dogs with PL. To study the outcome and complications of the combination of the Wedge recession osteotomy (WR) and Tibial tuberosity transposition (TT) with a Fascia over-the-top (OT) or a Capsular and fascial imbrication technique (CFI) for the simultaneous treatment of PL and concomitant CCLR. A retrospective study is presented here. The signalment, body weight, luxation grade and direction, affected side, bilateral or unilateral PL, CCLR and meniscal status were analysed. The surgical treatment for PL and concomitant CCLR, outcome and complications were investigated. Of 233 small breed dogs with PL, 52 (22.31%) had a concomitant CCLR. Maltese dogs were more likely to have concomitant CCLR. The mean age for the dogs with PL only was 5.32 years, which was significantly younger than the mean age of dogs with PL and concomitant CCLR (7.39 years). Overweight dogs with PL were prone to develop concomitant CCLR. Surgical stabilisation with a combination of WR, TT and OT or CFI had excellent or good results in 86.63% of the cases, while 16.67% of the cases developed complications. In conclusion, PL and concomitant CCL ruptures can be managed successfully by performing a combination of WR, TT and OT or CFI. The outcomes and complication rates are comparable to remodelling osteotomies. Moreover, these techniques are less expensive and can be performed with standard surgical equipment. These findings should be beneficial for clinical diagnosis, client education and treatment.

This report describes a rare case of a presumed local cutaneous drug reaction in a 10-year old, male miniature short-haired dachshund after subcutaneous injection of meloxicam and maropitant. The dog was presented with cubital joint lameness and meloxicam was injected subcutaneously. Bloody diarrhoea and bloody emesis developed over the next three days. After a repeated subcutaneous application of meloxicam and maropitant into the left thoracic wall, the skin and subcutis at the injection site indurated and became painful over an area of approx. 8x8cm. The skin became locally necrotic and was demarcated within a few days. Histopathology of deep skin biopsies revealed severe, necrosuppurative dermatitis, panniculitis and vasculitis with marked edema and deep sequestrating pannicular necrosis. Perivascular eosinophils and vascular thrombosis were present in deeper areas of the panniculus and cutaneous muscle. Microbiological culturing failed to identify bacterial growth. Based on the treatment history, clinical changes, histopathology and the lack of laboratory data suggestive of relevant differential diagnoses, a local cutaneous adverse drug reaction (CADR) was favoured. Surgical removal of affected areas and an open wound management were successful and the dog fully recovered. This rare case of localized canine CADR illustrates the importance of a precise medical history, a strategie to exclude relevant differential diagnoses and the difficulties in ultimately confirming localized CADR in veterinary medicine.

Mast cells within the tumor microenvironment have controversial roles. Here, the authors show, using genetic mouse models, that in gastric cancer, mast cells at the periphery of the tumors are activated via cancer cell produced-IL33 and promote tumorigenesis by recruiting macrophages within the tumors.

To promote the development of an optimally functional total hip prosthesis for medium and large dog breeds, accurate measurements of the normal anatomy of the proximal femur and acetabular retroversion are essential. The aim of the current study was to obtain precise normal values of the femoral anteversion angle using computed tomography on cadavers of mature dogs with normal hip joints of both medium and large breeds. Based on the length of their femora 58 dogs were allocated either to group I: ≤195 mm or group II: >195 mm. In the study the femoral anteversion angle (FAA) was measured on each femur using multi-slice spiral computed tomography (CT). The data were processed as multi-planar and three-dimensional reconstructions using Advantage Workstation software. The CT measurements showed that the mean ± standard deviation (SD) FAA of group I was 31.34 ± 5.47° and in group II it was 31.02 ± 4.95°. There were no significant mean difference associations between the length of the femur and the femoral neck angle in either group (P > 0.05). The data suggest that a prosthesis FAA of 31 degrees would be suitable for a wide range of dog sizes.