Biomedical subjects

H N Erb

Publications and source records attributed to H N Erb.

187 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum-effusion albumin gradient in dogs with transudative abdominal effusion.

A prospective clinical study in dogs with transudative abdominal effusions examined the clinical usefulness of the serum albumin-effusion albumin (SA-EA) gradient. In humans, the SA-EA gradient facilitates classification of abdominal effusion, with a gradient > or = 1.1 indicating the presence of portal hypertension. Gradient values proved useful for predicting therapeutic response to sodium restriction and diuresis in humans. Of 49 dogs evaluated, 25 had hepatobiliary disease (group 1) and 24 had other nonhepatobiliary conditions (group 2). Portal hypertension was clinically suspected in 24 of 25 dogs in group 1 and in 15 of 24 dogs in group 2. A broad range of SA-EA gradients was found. A gradient > or = 1.1 was found in 22 of 25 (88.0%) dogs with liver disease and in 14 of 24 (58.3%) dogs with other disorders. The median SA-EA gradient was higher in group 1 than in group 2, with values of 1.4 (range, 0.7-3.1) and 1.1 (range, 0.3-2.6), respectively (P < .04). Considerable overlapping of SA-EA gradients occurred between groups and among dogs with diverse conditions such that gradient values could not distinguish dogs with hepatobiliary disease from dogs with other conditions. The overall diagnostic accuracy of the SA-EA gradient in predicting portal hypertension in dogs with and without hepatobiliary disease (69.4%) exceeded that of hypoalbuminemia (57.1%). These findings suggest that portal hypertension is a predominant force in formation of transudative abdominal effusion in dogs with hepatobiliary disease and in dogs with other disorders. Whether the SA-EA gradient can be used to guide therapeutic mobilization of effusion in dogs remains to be proved.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of S-adenosylmethionine on clinical pathology and redox potential in the red blood cell, liver, and bile of clinically normal cats.

S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), an important hepatic metabolite and glutathione (GSH) donor, has been studied mechanistically in vitro, in humans with clinical liver disease, and in experimental animal models of liver disease. Collective findings encourage its therapeutic use in necroinflammatory and cholestatic liver disorders. A chronic longitudinal study (pre- and posttreatment parameters compared) was undertaken with 15 clinically healthy cats given a stable 1,4-butanedisulfonate (S'S isomer) SAMe salt (enteric coated tablets providing 180 mg SAMe), dosage 48 mg/kg PO q24h, on an empty stomach for 113 days. Routine physical and clinicopathologic assessments, red blood cell (RBC) osmotic fragility, liver function and histology, hepatic concentrations of reduced GSH (RGSH) and its oxidized disulfide form (GSSG), protein, glycogen, and deoxyribonucleic acid, GSH concentrations in RBCs, total bile acids in serum and bile, oxidative membrane products (TBARS) in RBCs and liver, and plasma SAMe concentrations were evaluated. SAMe administered PO significantly increased plasma SAMe concentrations, and peak concentrations usually occurred 2-4 hours after dosing. Chronic SAMe administration did not change peak or cumulative plasma SAMe concentrations and did not [corrected] cause overt signs of toxicity. A positive influence on RBC and hepatic redox status (RBC TBARS reduced 21.1% [P < .002], liver GSH increased 35% [P < .002], liver RGSH: GSSG ratio increased 69% [P < .03]) and improved RBC resilience to osmotic challenge (P < .03) were observed. Results prove that this SAMe PO product is enterically available and suggest that it imparts biologic effects that might be useful for attenuating systemic or hepatic oxidant challenge.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Biochemical markers of cardiac injury in normal, surviving septic, or nonsurviving septic neonatal foals.

The cardiac biomarkers cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and I (cTnI) and the cardiac isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CKMB) are used extensively in human medicine to diagnose and provide valuable prognostic information in patients with ischemic, traumatic, and septic myocardial injury. We designed a study to establish normal values for these markers in healthy, neonatal foals and to compare them with values obtained from septic neonates in a referral hospital population. The 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentiles for cTnI and CKMB in the healthy-foal population were 0.08, 0.14, 0.25, 0.49 ng/mL and 1.4, 2.3, 4.0, 7.4 ng/mL, respectively. The values obtained for cTnT were frequently (43/52 foals; 83%) below the lower limit of detection of the assay (0.009 ng/mL), but the median and range were 0.009 and 0.009-0.041 ng/mL, respectively. In the septic foal population, the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentile values for cTnI and CKMB were 0.05, 0.12, 0.22, and 1.10 ng/mL and 2.0, 4.4, 7.8, and 24 ng/mL, respectively. The values obtained for cTnT were less frequently below the lower limit of detection (23/38 foals; 60%) compared with the healthy foal population, and the median and range were 0.009 and 0.009-0.20 ng/mL, respectively. Significantly higher values were observed for cTnT and CKMB in septic foals compared with the healthy neonatal foal population, but there were no differences among septic foals in survivors compared with nonsurvivors. These findings suggest that myocardial injury occurs during septicemia in neonatal foals but that the injury is not associated with survival among septic foals.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Inhalant anesthetics and inspired oxygen: implications for anesthesia in birds.

A number of factors cause respiratory depression in anesthetized birds. Hypoventilation can be due to anesthetic-induced depression of the central nervous system, muscular relaxation of the muscles of respiration, and effects on central and peripheral chemoreceptors. Compared to mammals, respiratory function in birds may be more sensitive to the effects of inhalant anesthetics because of their effect on unique carbon dioxide (CO2)-sensitive intrapulmonary chemoreceptors located within the avian lung. High fractions of inspired oxygen also contribute to hypoventilation, possibly by depressing oxygen-sensitive chemoreceptors. This article is a review of the factors that cause respiratory depression in anesthetized birds.

Anesthesia, Inhalation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A retrospective study of canine house soiling: diagnosis and treatment.

A retrospective study was conducted to determine the relative frequency and type of elimination problem seen in dogs at a university referral practice and to evaluate the efficacy of the suggested treatments. Cases presented to the Animal Behavior Clinic at Cornell University between 1987 and 1996 were reviewed. Of 1,173 cases, 105 (9%) were house-soiling cases. Of these cases, the authors obtained outcome information from 70. Within the diagnosis of house soiling, incomplete housebreaking (n=59; 84%) were the most frequent referral cases, of which 48 cases (81%; 95% confidence interval, 69% to 90%) improved. Separation anxiety was considered the second most common underlying cause (n=27; 39%), of which 85% (n=23; 95% confidence interval, 66% to 96%) improved. Behavior modification was the most often suggested treatment (n=58), with 48 (83%) cases improving. Behavior modification consisted of accompanying the dog to the preferred elimination area, rewarding the dog for eliminating there, and punishing the dog only when caught in the act of house soiling. These results suggest that correct house training, behavior modification involving positive reinforcement, and appropriate punishment are essential to diminish house-soiling problems in dogs.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Perioperative risk factors for puppies delivered by cesarean section in the United States and Canada.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate perioperative risk factors affecting neonatal survival after cesarean section. Data from 807 cesarean-derived litters (3,908 puppies) was submitted by 109 practices in the United States and Canada. Survival rates immediately, two hours, and seven days after delivery were 92% (n=3,127), 87% (n=2,951), and 80% (n=2,641), respectively, for puppies delivered by cesarean section (n=3,410) and were 86% (n=409), 83% (n=366), and 75% (n=283), respectively, for puppies born naturally (n=498). Maternal mortality rate was 1% (n=9). Of 776 surgeries, 453 (58%) were done on an emergency basis. The most common breed of dog was bulldog (n=138; 17%). The most common methods of inducing and maintaining anesthesia were administration of isoflurane for induction and maintenance (n=266; 34%) and administration of propofol for induction followed by administration of isoflurane for maintenance (n=237; 30%). A model of cesarean-derived puppies surviving to birth, between birth and two hours, and between two hours and seven days was designed to relate litter survival to perioperative factors. The following factors increased the likelihood of all puppies being alive: the surgery was not an emergency; the dam was not brachycephalic; there were four puppies or less in the litter; there were no naturally delivered or deformed puppies; all puppies breathed spontaneously at birth; at least one puppy vocalized spontaneously at birth; and neither methoxyflurane nor xylazine was used in the anesthetic protocol.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing the efficacy of perioperative carprofen administration in dogs undergoing surgical repair of a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament.

Twenty-one otherwise healthy dogs that presented for surgical repair of a ruptured cranial cruciate ligament were blindly and randomly given either carprofen (2.2 mg/kg body weight, orally) or a placebo beginning 12 hours preoperatively and continuing every 12 hours for a total of three doses. The patients were assessed for postoperative pain using a subjective pain score and given oxymorphone (0.1 mg/kg body weight, intramuscularly) every four hours if the pain score was 2 or greater. Blood samples were also collected to determine serum cortisol levels. There was a significant increase in serum cortisol levels in the immediate postoperative period in both the placebo group and the carprofen group (p less than 0.05). There was no significant difference in the percentage of increase in serum cortisol levels between the two groups. No correlation was evident between the serum cortisol levels and the corresponding pain scores in either group. This subjective method of assessing postoperative pain was not accurate and should not be relied upon for determination of postoperative analgesic administration. Perioperative oral administration of carprofen did not appear to be effective in controlling postoperative pain in these patients.

Administration, Oral↗