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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]

A shock canine pneumonia model that permitted relief of discomfort with the use of objective criteria was developed and validated. After intrabronchial Staphylococcus aureus challenge, mechanical ventilation, antibiotics, fluids, vasopressors, sedatives, and analgesics were titrated based on algorithms for 96 h. Increasing S. aureus (1 to 8 x [10.sup.9] colonyforming units/kg) produced decreasing survival rates (P = 0.04). From 4 to 96 h, changes in arterial-alveolar oxygen gradients, mean pulmonary artery pressure, IL-1, serum sodium levels, mechanical ventilation, and vasopressor support were ordered based on survival time [acute nonsurvivors ([less than or equal to]24 h until death, n = 8) [greater than or equal to] subacute nonsurvivors (>24 to 96 h until death, n = 8) [greater than or equal to] survivors ([greater than or equal to] 96 h until death, n = 22) (all P < 0.05)]. In the first 12 h, increases in lactate and renal abnormalities were greatest in acute nonsurvivors (all P < 0.05). Compared with survivors, subacute nonsurvivors had greater rises in cytokines and liver enzymes and greater falls in platelets, white cell counts, pH, and urine output from 24 to 96 h (all P < 0.05). Importantly, these changes were not attributable to dosages of sedation, which decreased in nonsurvivors [survivors vs. nonsurvivors: 5.0 [+ or -] 1.0 vs. 3.8 [+ or -] 0.7 ml x [h.sup.-1] x [(fentanyl/midazolam/ medetomidine).sup.-l]; p = 0.02]. In this model, the pain control regimen did not mask changes in metabolic function and lung injury or the need for more hemodynamic and pulmonary support related to increasing severity of sepsis. The integration into this model of both specific and supportive titrated therapies routinely used in septic patients may provide a more realistic setting to evaluate therapies for sepsis. sepsis; dog; Staphylococcus aureus

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "A multicenter study of the effect of dietary supplementation with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on carprofen dosage in dogs with osteoarthritis," by D. A. Fritsch and colleagues in the 2010 issue.

Presents a letter from the editor about the sow housing policy.

Presents a letter to the editor on animal welfare published in the August 2005 issue of the "Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association."

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article on risk factors linked with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in cats, evaluated at the Banfield Pet Hospitals across the U.S., in previous issue and a response from the author is also presented.

Objective: To determine the effect of tranexamic acid (TXA) on clot hyperfibrinolysis (HF), defined as excessive clot lysis at 30 minutes (LY30%), with rapid thromboelastography (rTEG) or rTEG samples spiked with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA-stressed rTEG), in dogs with hemorrhagic shock., Methods: Prospective blinded clinical trial at 2 teaching hospitals, March 16, 2018, to May 20, 2022. Twenty-five dogs with hemorrhagic shock and HF were treated with standard care plus either TXA (20 mg/kg; TXA group) or saline (SAL group) over 20 minutes followed by an infusion of the same dose over 8 hours. Rapid TEG and tPA-stressed rTEG assays were performed immediately before study drug administration and at 8, 12, and 24 hours afterwards (T0, T8, T12, and T24, respectively)., Results: 4 dogs died or were euthanized before the end of the study period due to disease/injury severity. All survivors had normal rTEG LY30% values after T0; the value for 1 nonsurvivor increased at T8. The tPA-stressed LY30% normalized in all TXA (n = 14) and 8 of 11 SAL dogs at T8; TXA dogs had lower median tPA-stressed rTEG LY30% values at T8 and T12 than SAL dogs (P = .001 and .02, respectively). There was no treatment effect on blood product administration or survival, and no adverse effects were attributed to TXA administration., Conclusions: Resuscitation with or without TXA reduced HF identified by tPA-stressed rTEG. Hyperfibrinolysis was completely suppressed at the conclusion of the 8-hour TXA infusion., Clinical Relevance: Although TXA treatment stopped HF, there was no effect on survival or transfusion requirements.

Aggressive and complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice for fibrosarcomas in cats. Thorough preoperative planning and meticulous surgical technique are necessary for optimal cosmetic, functional, and oncologic outcome. Perioperative pain management with an emphasis on preemptive analgesia and multimodal analgesia is essential to minimize patient morbidity.