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CASE DESCRIPTION Three 21-week-old sexually intact female sibling domestic shorthair cats were brought to an emergency clinic because of signs of sudden respiratory distress that were noted by the owner after the cats had been confined for approximately 10 hours in a room with an operating ozone-generating air purifier. No other potential toxicant exposures were reported. CLINICAL FINDINGS On initial examination, the 3 cats were severely dyspneic and tachypneic. Pulmonary crackles were audible on thoracic auscultation. Thoracic radiography revealed a marked peribronchial, unstructured interstitial pulmonary pattern that coalesced to a patchy alveolar pattern, consistent with noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME A diuretic (furosemide, 2 mg/kg [0.9 mg/lb], IV) and bronchodilator (terbutaline sulfate, 0.01 mg/kg [0.005 mg/lb], IM) were administered, and supplemental oxygen was provided by placing the cats in an oxygen cage at 80% oxygen saturation. By 24 hours after placement in the oxygen cage, all cats had unremarkable respiratory rates and thoracic auscultation findings. Complete resolution of the respiratory signs and radiographic pulmonary lesions was achieved within 48 to 72 hours after initial evaluation. At a recheck examination performed 3 months after initial evaluation, the cats remained free of respiratory signs, and no radiographic pulmonary lesions were detected. CLINICAL RELEVANCE To the authors' knowledge, this was the first reported case of pulmonary toxicosis believed to have been caused by ozone exposure in cats. Associated respiratory signs were successfully and rapidly reversed following oxygen supplementation and medical treatment.

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of trephination of the frontal sinus and injection of antifungal cream using a medical bone marrow drill in dogs. Results were compared with frontal sinus trephination using a standard surgical technique. Bilateral trephination of the frontal sinuses was carried out in the heads of 11 cadavers using a medical bone marrow drill and a surgical bone chuck. The time taken to carry out the procedure using both techniques was compared. Before and after injection of antifungal cream into the frontal sinuses, computed-tomography (CT) scanning was done to assess for iatrogenic trauma and to determine the degree to which the sinuses were filled with each technique and evaluate the diffusion of the cream into the nasal cavity of each dog. The mean volume of the sinuses was 8.8 mL (3.1 to 14.3 mL). Trephination, flushing, and injecting of antifungal cream were significantly faster using the medical technique. There was no significant difference in the mean filling of the frontal sinuses between the medical (82.7%) and the surgical (82.4%) technique ( P -value = 0.3). Filling of the nasal cavity was classified as very good in 6/11 cases, with evidence of trauma caused by the surgical trephination technique in 1 head. Findings suggest that use of the medical bone marrow drill is highly feasible for frontal sinus trephination. Injection of antifungal cream into the frontal sinuses using the bone marrow needle resulted in good diffusion into the ipsilateral nasal cavity and could be used to treat aspergillosis when debridement or sinusoscopy is not deemed necessary.

OBJECTIVE To quantify and characterize pleural fluid collected from healthy dogs after placement of a thoracostomy tube (TT). ANIMALS 8 healthy Coonhound-cross dogs (mean ± SD weight, 27.2 ± 1.6 kg). PROCEDURES Thoracic CT of each dog was performed before placement of a TT and daily thereafter for 7 days. Thoracic fluid volume was calculated from CT images. Effusion was aspirated when detected; volume was recorded, and cytologic analysis and bacterial culture were performed. RESULTS Mean ± SD volume of pleural effusion detected by CT was 1.43 ± 0.59 mL/kg (range, 0.12 to 3.32 mL/kg). Mean volume collected via aspiration was 0.48 ± 0.84 mL/kg (range, 0 to 2.16 mL/kg). Cytologic analysis yielded results consistent with an exudate, characterized by septic suppurative inflammation in 6 dogs and mixed inflammation in 1 dog; there was insufficient volume for analysis in 1 dog. Sufficient volume was obtained for bacterial culture for 6 dogs, which yielded pure growths of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (n = 3) and Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (2) and mixed growth of both of these species (1). The TT was removed before day 7 in 4 dogs because of pyothorax (n = 3) and irreversible damage to the TT (1). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Presence of a TT induced a minimal volume of pleural effusion in healthy dogs. Pyothorax developed in most dogs between 4 and 6 days after TT placement. On the basis of these findings, a TT should be removed by the fourth day after placement, unless complications are detected sooner.

A 1-year-old German shepherd × husky cross dog was diagnosed with multiple liver abscesses and severe cholangitis secondary to the liver fluke Metorchis conjunctus. The dog was successfully treated with 2 percutaneous transhepatic drainage and alcoholization procedures, and a prolonged course of antibiotics and praziquantel.

Flexor tendinitis is a common and debilitating injury of elite and recreational athletes. Healing may be improved through intratendinous injection of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), which has been shown in vitro to stimulate mitogenesis and enhance tendon matrix production. This study investigated the effects of intratendinous injection of IGF-I on tendon healing in an equine model of flexor tendinitis. Collagenase-induced lesions were created in the tensile region of theflexor digitorum superficialis tendon of both forelimbs of eight horses. Treated tendons were injected with 2 microg rhlGF-I intralesionally every other day for 10 injections, while controls received 0.9% NaCl. Tendon fiber deposition and organization were evaluated serially using ultrasonography throughout the 8 week trial period. Following euthanasia, the tendons were harvested and DNA, hydroxyproline, and glycosaminoglycan content determined, mechanical strength and stiffness evaluated, gene expression and spatial arrangement of collagen types I and III assessed by northern blot and in situ hybridization, and tendon fiber architecture assessed by polarized light microscopy. Local soft tissue swelling was reduced in the IGF-I treated limbs. Similarly, lesion size in IGF-I treated tendons was smaller 3 and 4 weeks after initiation of treatment. Cell proliferation and collagen content of the IGF-I treated tendons were increased compared to controls. Mechanically, IGF-I treated tendons showed a trend toward increased stiffness compared to saline treated controls. Considered together with the decreased soft tissue swelling and improved sonographic healing, these data support the potential use of intralesional IGF-I for treatment of debilitating tendon injuries.

A retrospective study was undertaken wherein the medical records and thoracic radiographs of 270 dogs with lymphosarcoma were reviewed to determine the type and frequency of thoracic radiographic changes. Statistical evaluation of the relationship between radiographic, clinical and immunologic factors and the primary remission duration and survival times was performed using univariate and multivariate analysis. One hundred ninety-two dogs (71%) had some type of thoracic radiographic abnormality, including 80 dogs (29.6%) with pulmonary infiltrates and 164 dogs (64.4%) with thoracic lymphadenomegaly. Only T-cell phenotype (p = 0.0056 for survival, p = 0.0045 for remission) and the presence of cranial mediastinal lymphadenomegaly (p = 0.0005 for survival, p = 0.0129 for remission) were identified as having a significant negative correlation to both primary remission and survival duration by multivariate analysis.