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Biomedical subjects

B M Kirby

Publications and source records attributed to B M Kirby.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Septic peritonitis secondary to unilateral pyometra and ovarian bursal abscessation in a dog.

A seven-year-old, female entire Labrador retriever was presented for acute-onset vomiting and lethargy, associated with weakness and generalised tremors. The clinical, radiographic, ultrasonographic and histopathological findings revealed septic peritonitis which occurred secondarily to unilateral pyometra and ovarian bursal abscessation. However, in this case, the initial clinical findings, blood parameters, radiographic and ultrasonographic findings did not allow a specific diagnosis. Repeat monitoring was required, and abdominocentesis proved to be the most useful diagnostic test, allowing a definitive diagnosis and the decision to be made as to whether or not to carry out exploratory surgery.

Abscess↗
PubMed2002

Association between anal furunculosis and colitis in the dog: preliminary observations.

Treatment of anal furunculosis in dogs is often unsatisfactory and may be associated with significant recurrence and complications. This may be compounded by the simultaneous presence of colitis in affected animals. Clinical signs associated with colitis and anal furunculosis may be similar, including faecal tenesmus, dyschezia and haematochezia. To examine the incidence of concurrent anal furunculosis and colitis, colonic biopsies were collected from 18 dogs referred for treatment of anal furunculosis. Nine dogs (50 per cent) had a histopathological diagnosis of colitis. Clinical signs more indicative of colitis than anal furunculosis (increased frequency of defecation, mucus in faeces and diarrhoea) were not observed more frequently in dogs with confirmed colitis compared with those with furunculosis alone. Therefore, while an association between colitis and anal furunculosis may exist, clinical signs alone cannot be used as an indicator of the presence of colitis in cases of anal furunculosis. The authors recommend that colonic biopsies should be undertaken in all dogs presented with anal furunculosis. Whether specific treatment of colitis in dogs with histopathological evidence of colitis improves the outcome of treatment for anal furunculosis awaits further study.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Neurological dysfunction in three dogs and one cat following attenuation of intrahepatic portosystemic shunts.

Neurological dysfunction is an uncommon complication following extrahepatic portosystemic shunt ligation. Three dogs and one cat are described that developed neurological signs within 21 to 42 hours of attenuation of intrahepatic portosystemic shunts. None of these cases had biochemical evidence of hepatic encephalopathy postoperatively. Two dogs died during management of status epilepticus following aspiration of food. One dog died six months postoperatively. The cat had persistent neurological dysfunction at discharge, but was alive and had recovered most of its neurological function at the time of writing, 37 months after surgery. This report demonstrates the potential for animals with intrahepatic portosystemic shunts to develop postoperative neurological signs and highlights the difficulty of managing such cases. Two dogs had both intrahepatic and extrahepatic portosystemic shunts. Large intestinal malrotation (partial situs inversus) may have been linked to the development of a portosystemic shunt in the remaining dog.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

High rise syndrome with impalement in three cats.

Three cats were presented for management of impalement injuries sustained following falls from second storey windows onto spiked metal railings. Two cats presented with penetrating thoracic wounds and extensive pulmonary parenchymal trauma, while one presented with abdominal impalement and splenic rupture. Following stabilisation, all three cats underwent exploratory surgery. A good outcome was achieved in two of the cats: one with thoracic and one with abdominal penetration. Impalement injury secondary to free fallis a previously unreported variation of 'high rise syndrome' in cats.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed2002

Canine and feline pyothorax: a retrospective study of 50 cases in the UK and Ireland.

Fifty cases (36 dogs and 14 cats) with a confirmed diagnosis of pyothorax were evaluated from five referral institutions in the UK and Ireland. Aetiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and outcome of all cases were examined. The underlying cause of pyothorax was determined in 18 per cent of cases. Positive bacteriological cultures of the pleural fluid were obtained in 68.7 per cent of the animals. Treatment modalities included surgery and medical management, involving thoracostomy tube placement, thoracic aspiration, thoracic lavage and antimicrobial therapy. A successful outcome was achieved in 86 per cent of patients.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Decrease in beta-cell mass leads to impaired pulsatile insulin secretion, reduced postprandial hepatic insulin clearance, and relative hyperglucagonemia in the minipig.

Most insulin is secreted in discrete pulses at an interval of approximately 6 min. Increased insulin secretion after meal ingestion is achieved through the mechanism of amplification of the burst mass. Conversely, in type 2 diabetes, insulin secretion is impaired as a consequence of decreased insulin pulse mass. beta-cell mass is reported to be deficient in type 2 diabetes. We tested the hypothesis that decreased beta-cell mass leads to decreased insulin pulse mass. Insulin secretion was examined before and after an approximately 60% decrease in beta-cell mass achieved by a single injection of alloxan in a porcine model. Alloxan injection resulted in stable diabetes (fasting plasma glucose 7.4 +/- 1.1 vs. 4.4 +/- 0.1 mmol/l; P < 0.01) with impaired insulin secretion in the fasting and fed states and during a hyperglycemic clamp (decreased by 54, 80, and 90%, respectively). Deconvolution analysis revealed a selective decrease in insulin pulse mass (by 54, 60, and 90%) with no change in pulse frequency. Rhythm analysis revealed no change in the periodicity of regular oscillations after alloxan administration in the fasting state but was unable to detect stable rhythms reliably after enteric or intravenous glucose stimulation. After alloxan administration, insulin secretion and insulin pulse mass (but not insulin pulse interval) decreased in relation to beta-cell mass. However, the decreased pulse mass (and pulse amplitude delivered to the liver) was associated with a decrease in hepatic insulin clearance, which partially offset the decreased insulin secretion. Despite hyperglycemia, postprandial glucagon concentrations were increased after alloxan administration (103.4 +/- 6.3 vs. 92.2 +/- 2.5 pg/ml; P < 0.01). We conclude that an alloxan-induced selective decrease in beta-cell mass leads to deficient insulin secretion by attenuating insulin pulse mass, and that the latter is associated with decreased hepatic insulin clearance and relative hyperglucagonemia, thereby emulating the pattern of islet dysfunction observed in type 2 diabetes.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Obstructive inflammatory laryngeal disease in three cats.

Three cats with upper respiratory tract obstruction due to laryngeal inflammation are presented. Cervical radiography showed the presence of a soft tissue mass in the laryngeal region in all cases, and laryngoscopy allowed direct visualization of a mass associated with the larynx. Laryngeal samples were obtained by a combination of fine needle aspiration, cutting biopsy forceps, by ventral laryngotomy, and at post-mortem. Histopathology of the laryngeal samples showed the presence of a predominantly granulomatous inflammation, with macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration. One case was euthanased due to severe dyspnoea. The remaining two cases underwent combined medical (corticosteroid and antibiotic) and surgical (permanent tracheostomy or excision of laryngeal tissue by ventral laryngotomy) treatment. One case died of an undetermined cause 15 weeks after surgery while the other case remains clinically well 20 months after diagnosis. Recognition of the existence of granulomatous laryngitis is important as clinical signs and radiographic findings are indistinguishable from laryngeal neoplasia.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Osteomyelitis of the atlanto-occipital region as a sequela to a pharyngeal stick injury.

An eight-year-old female Belgian shepherd dog was referred for investigation of chronic neck pain. The dog had sustained a pharyngeal injury 12 weeks previously while catching a stick. Radiographs of the cervical spine revealed signs consistent with a septic arthritis of the atlanto-occipital joint and osteomyelitis of both occipital condyles and the atlas. A foreign body was identified ultrasonographically in the retropharyngeal soft tissues, and a stick was surgically removed from a site ventral to the right side of the atlanto-occipital joint. The signs of neck pain started to resolve within a week of surgery.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Client counseling in orthopedic emergencies.

Important client communication issues associated with most orthopedic emergencies are addressed. Information on client communication and support, providing a prognosis, discussing economic concerns, discharge planning, euthanasia, and client grief is presented. The issue of animal abuse as a cause of orthopedic emergencies also is examined.

Animal Welfare↗
PubMed1995

Spinal fracture/luxation.

Clinical management of the spinal fracture/luxation patient requires prompt and accurate diagnosis of the extent of injury coupled with intensive medical or surgical intervention. Convalescent patient care is often physically challenging and labor intensive.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Hypotensive shock syndrome associated with acute Babesia canis infection in a dog.

A Doberman Pinscher contracted babesiosis after receiving a fresh blood transfusion from a Greyhound blood donor. Hypotensive shock syndrome was suspected on the basis of arterial hypotension, weakness, and pyrexia in the absence of detectable hemolysis and within hours of detection of low numbers of circulating Babesia canis organisms. Treatment with imidocarb dipropionate appears to have been effective in eliminating circulating B canis organisms and clinical disease. The blood donor, recently acquired from a race track, was healthy and lacked any abnormalities on initial laboratory evaluation; however, its serum antibody titer for B canis was > 1:5,000; B canis organisms were later identified on blood smears after the dog had been splenectomized and treated with corticosteroids at an immunosuppressive dosage. This case draws attention to a potential problem in current screening practices for infectious diseases of retired racing Greyhounds intended for use as blood donors.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

Decision-making in cranial cruciate ligament ruptures.

Differential diagnoses for cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) ruptures are discussed. Management of CrCL ruptures complicated by other orthopedic or medical problems is discussed and illustrated with clinical cases. The literature comparing various repair techniques for CrCl ruptures is reviewed and some recommendations for repair choices made.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Effect of circumferential bands on cortical vascularity and viability.

Wire cerclage devices do not restrict cortical vascularity; however, bands, because they are flat and wide, have been implicated as the cause of fracture nonunion by disruption of cortical vascularity. This experiment evaluated the effect of cerclage bands on the cortical vascularity of bones that had not been fractured. Stainless-steel bands of four sizes (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 mm wide) and nylon bands of five sizes (2.5, 3.6, 4.8, 7.6, and 9.0 mm wide) were applied 1 cm apart to both femoral diaphyses of four mature dogs. In two additional dogs, 18-gauge cerclage wires were applied 5 mm apart on one femur and nylon bands were applied immediately adjacent to one another on the other femur to cover 3 cm of the length of each femoral diaphysis. These six dogs were euthanatized and perfused 7 days postoperatively and specimens were studied by microangiography and correlated histology. Two additional dogs were studied 4 and 15 weeks after application of nylon and metal bands. There was no evidence of complete cortical devascularization under any size or type of cerclage appliance at any time interval. Numerous examples of vessels traversing the cortex directly beneath all the cerclage appliances were observed. Cerclage devices, even when flat and wide, do not restrict cortical vascularity when applied to intact bones.

Angiography↗
PubMed1990

Oral flaps. Principles, problems, and complications of flaps for reconstruction of the oral cavity.

Various types of flaps are commonly used by veterinary surgeons for reconstruction of congenital and acquired defects in the oral cavity. Specific techniques have been described and illustrated elsewhere. In this chapter the author reviews indications and common uses of oral flaps and considerations in preoperative and postoperative management of animals undergoing flap reconstructions. General principles of flap construction and handling, technical considerations, and complications are discussed, with case examples to illustrate some of the problems and pitfalls of surgical repair of oral defects.

Animals↗