Table of Contents and Abstracts

A 4-month-old intact male Siamese cat was presented immediately after being found in a washing machine following 30 min of a cold-water wash cycle. The kitten demonstrated clinical signs of shock, respiratory distress, hypothermia, coagulopathy, traumatic brain injury, and ocular injury. Resuscitation and treatment involving IV fluid therapy, hyperosmotic agents, oxygen supplementation, antifibrinolytics, a plasma transfusion, antioxidant medications, broad-spectrum antibiotics, analgesics, topical ophthalmic medications, and intensive nursing care were required. The kitten was discharged 5 d after hospitalization and was reported to be neurologically normal at 11 mo after the incident. This case highlights the many clinical syndromes that may manifest with washing-machine entrapment, as well as the potential for a positive outcome.

Key clinical message:
Clinical descriptions of cats undergoing or surviving washing-machine entrapment and their resulting injuries are rare, as are reports of traumatic coagulopathies. This report describes clinical conditions of traumatic brain injury, suspected traumatic coagulopathy, and other injuries in a kitten after accidental entrapment within a washing machine. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of a cat surviving an extended washing-machine cycle with development of coagulopathy.

This report describes the presentation and management of an incidental primary splenic hemangiosarcoma with hemorrhagic muscle metastasis following an incisional biopsy of a temporalis mass in a dog. In the absence of clinical signs related to the primary splenic lesion, skeletal muscle metastasis of hemangiosarcoma could be misdiagnosed as isolated primary tumor, resulting in failure to provide an accurate prognosis and effective treatment of the primary tumor itself. A thorough diagnostic imaging workup in patients presenting with blood-filled subcutaneous or muscular masses is fundamental to rule out a primary visceral hemangiosarcoma. In addition, the report describes the use of tranexamic acid as an effective local treatment for acute hemorrhage control from a musculoskeletal metastatic lesion that warrants further investigation.

Key clinical message:
The diagnosis and management of a multi-metastatic splenic hemangiosarcoma in a dog that was presented with hemorrhagic temporal muscle metastasis is reported. An alternative method to control acute hemorrhage using local tranexamic acid is described.

Extrahepatic bile-duct obstruction is commonly caused by pancreatitis in canines. Surgical decompression of the biliary tree is required when medical management is unsuccessful. The clinical presentation often includes severe vomiting and abdominal pain requiring targeted analgesic and anesthetic protocols. Locoregional anesthesia has been largely advocated as part of multimodal analgesic plans to reduce opioid consumption and decrease opioid-related side effects. This report describes a case where the lateral quadratus lumborum block provided effective analgesia and opioid-sparing effect in a 7-year-old mixed-breed dog with extrahepatic bile-duct obstruction undergoing common bile-duct stent placement.

Key clinical message:
Anesthetic stability in critically ill patients undergoing abdominal surgery is challenging. However, implementation of an ultrasound-guided locoregional technique may help blunt the sympathetic response to surgery and reduce opioid requirements, facilitating anesthetic stability and a comfortable early postoperative period. This is apparently the first report on using ultrasound-guided quadratus lumborum block in a critically ill dog with pancreatitis.

Avian reoviruses (ARVs) are ubiquitous and play a role in diseases affecting various organs in chickens and turkeys. In recent years, tenosynovitis and lameness emerged as the most frequently reported clinical conditions. In this report, we describe a case of neurological disease associated with ARV infection in 4-week-old turkeys in Alberta. A flock of 7650 commercial turkey toms exhibited neurological signs such as torticollis and ataxia that affected ~3 to 4% of birds in the flock. Histologic examination of brain samples collected at 6 wk revealed nonsuppurative encephalitis. A pooled brain sample was positive for ARV by PCR. By 9 wk of age, birds in the flock started developing lameness with no apparent neurological involvement, and tendon samples were positive by PCR. Partial sigma C gene amino acid sequences were obtained for the brain and tendon samples and were 91.4% identical. The brain and tendon samples showed 95.5% and 97.7% amino acid identities to ARVs from Ontario (ARV/Turkey/ON/17-049928) and Pennsylvania (ARV/Turkey/PA/01769-14), respectively. Similar cases are currently being investigated in western Canada.

Key clinical message:
Avian reoviruses should be considered one of the differential diagnoses in cases of neurological signs in commercial birds.

This case report describes a 10-year-old spayed female domestic medium-hair cat with chronic upper respiratory signs related to a remnant of the left globe in the orbit after incomplete enucleation, causing a draining tract. A CT scan, complete blood (cell) count, biochemical analysis, rhinoscopy, biopsy, culture, histopathologic analysis, and surgical revision of enucleation were done. Complete blood (cell) count was unremarkable. Biochemical analysis showed mild hyperglycemia at 9.38 mmol/L [referral range (RR): 3.95 to 8.84 mmol/L] and hyperglobulinemia at 56 g/L (RR: 28 to 51 g/L). The CT scan showed a soft-tissue opacity consisting of a cyst in the orbit from the previously enucleated eye with a draining tract and a completed destruction of the nasal turbinates. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was cultured from nasal biopsies. Histopathologic analysis of the nasal tissue showed lymphocytic and neutrophilic rhinitis with edema. Revision surgery was carried out to remove the orbital cysts. Histopathologic analysis of the cyst in the left orbit revealed a distorted globe with almost all the ocular structures. Upon recheck a few weeks later, no discharge from the surgical site was observed. However, mild chronic discharge remained present in both nostrils. This is the first report of incomplete enucleation in a cat leading to chronic nasal signs. Removing the entire globe with the conjunctiva and lacrimal glands is important to minimize postsurgical complications.

Key clinical message:
This is the first case report of chronic nasal signs secondary to an incomplete enucleation in a cat. Key factors of the surgery include removal of the entire globe with the lacrimal gland, conjunctiva, and eyelid margin to prevent secondary complications.

Objectives
This study aimed to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and types of bacterial isolates associated with subclinical bacteriuria (SBU) in dogs with reduced mobility; and to explore the influence of SBU on surgical-site infection (SSI) in dogs treated surgically for their conditions.

Animals
We studied 140 client-owned dogs.

Procedure
Medical records of dogs with orthopedic and neurological conditions from 3 academic referral hospitals were reviewed. Dogs receiving antimicrobials or showing lower urinary tract signs were excluded. Using generalized linear models, clinical, procedural, and postoperative variables were evaluated as possible risk factors for SBU and SSI.

Results
The prevalence of SBU and the rate of SSI were 8.5% (12/140) and 10.4% (10/96), respectively. Urine culture was completed in 6 of 12 dogs with SBU, and 3 results were positive (Escherichia coli in 2 dogs and Staphylococcus spp. in 1 dog). Four of the 10 dogs that developed SSI received postoperative antimicrobial therapy. The prevalence of SBU and types of bacterial isolates were similar to those in previous reports. Significant risk factors for developing SBU and its association with SSI were not identified.

Conclusion and clinical relevance
Screening and treating for SBU preoperatively remains controversial.

Background
Bipolar vessel-sealing devices (BVSD) have been used for muscle transection in canine limb amputations; however, a retrospective study of their use, and particularly the short-term complications, has not yet been reported.

Objectives
To describe the use of a BVSD as the main method for muscle transection in canine limb amputations and to report the incidence of short-term incisional complications following these surgeries.

Animals and procedure
Medical records of dogs undergoing limb amputations using a BVSD from January 2017 to December 2018 were reviewed for demographics, preoperative findings, intraoperative complications, and short-term outcomes. Exclusion criteria included surgery and anesthesia time not recorded, or short-term postoperative follow-up data not available for review. Complications noted in the medical record up to the time of suture removal were included in the review.

Results
A total of 27 cases met selection criteria, including amputations of 17 forelimbs and 10 pelvic limbs. There were no intraoperative complications noted. Median duration between surgery and suture removal was 13 d (range: 4 to 23 d). Seroma formation occurred in 1 case (3.7%), whereas convalescent surgical-site infections were identified in 3 cases (11%). All complications were documented in dogs weighing > 27 kg.

Conclusion
Use of a BVSD as the main method of muscle transection in canine limb amputations is a safe and feasible alternative to more traditional methods of limb amputation. Surgical-site infection and seroma formation were the only documented complications in the present study. The complication rate was similar to rates described previously; therefore, using a BVSD for muscle transection seems a viable alternative to traditional methods of limb amputation.

Clinical relevance
Given similar incisional complication rates when compared to more traditional methods of muscle transection, a BVSD may be considered for an alternative method of muscle transection in canine limb amputations.

Objectives
Identify if lactulose administration is associated with hypercalcemia in dogs medically managed for hepatic encephalopathy due to a portosystemic shunt and measure any magnitude in change of ionized calcium (iCa) or total calcium.

Animals
Seventeen client-owned dogs diagnosed with a portosystemic shunt and medically managed with lactulose.

Procedure
Total calcium and iCa were measured at Time point 1 (T1), before starting medical management; and Time point 2 (T2), the time of a reassessment after > 3 wk of lactulose administration.

Results
There were no statistically significant differences in iCa or total calcium between T1 and T2. Lactulose dose was positively correlated with change in iCa between T1 and T2.

Conclusion and clinical relevance
This study did not identify the development of hypercalcemia in a population of dogs treated with lactulose for the management of hepatic encephalopathy. A possible correlation was present between dose of lactulose and change in iCa, and this may represent a dose-dependent association.

Objective
To determine the complication rate of canine scrotal urethrostomy (SU) performed with poliglecaprone 25 and identify risk factors for complications.

Animals
We studied 67 dogs treated with SU.

Procedure
Medical records of dogs that underwent SU between 2011 and 2023 at Garden State Veterinary Specialists and its satellite hospitals were reviewed. Information regarding signalment, urinary tract infections, suture pattern, indication for surgery, concurrent surgical procedures, and postoperative complications was recorded.

Results
We found that 21 of 67 (31.34%) dogs experienced minor complications while hospitalized. Average length of hospitalization was 2.18 d. The short-term (< 2 mo) complication rate was 40.6% (26/64), and all were minor complications. Furthermore, 20 of 56 (35.71%) dogs had minor complications at long-term follow-up (> 2 mo). Dogs requiring an SU for conditions such as trauma, paraphimosis, priapism, urethral prolapse, and hypospadias had a 5.32× higher risk of complications than those with urolithiasis. No other significant risk factors for complications were identified.

Conclusion and clinical relevance
We inferred that poliglecaprone 25 may be an acceptable suture material for canine SU. Major complications were rare and long-term outcomes were favorable.

Background
Dirofilaria immitis (causative agent of heartworm disease) is a mosquito-borne parasite that is endemic in canids internationally and can cause serious disease in dogs.

Objective
The objective of this study was to predict the earliest time for infective D. immitis exposure risk in multiple cities in Ontario. In addition, the potential impact of an increase in the daily mean temperature was evaluated.

Animals and procedure
The earliest date of D. immitis exposure risk for dogs within a calendar year was estimated for multiple cities in Ontario, based on the time to accumulation of 130 heartworm development units (HDUs).

Results
The earliest date of accumulation of 130 HDUs between 1996 and 2023 was May 25 (Windsor in 2012), and the latest was August 7 (Thunder Bay in 2004, Tobermory in 2014). The median date ranged from June 7 (Windsor) to July 18 (Thunder Bay). There were no significant changes in onset date over the study period for any location (all Q > 0.12).

When 1°C was added to the mean daily temperature, the date until 130 HDUs was reached decreased by a median of 4.5 d for Windsor (range: 2 to 12 d), 7 d for Sault Ste. Marie (range: 4 to 17 d), and 6 d for Kitchener-Waterloo (range: 3 to 11 d). This resulted in an earliest date of May 19 for Windsor, June 8 for Kitchener-Waterloo, and June 18 for Sault Ste. Marie.

Conclusion and clinical relevance
Described data suggest that current recommendations for heartworm prophylaxis in Ontario still provide abundant coverage for the estimated onset of risk, even when factors that could result in an earlier onset are considered.

Objective
To compare cardiovascular outcomes in dogs undergoing adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma with and without phenoxybenzamine pretreatment.

Animals
A total of 65 medical records from dogs at 5 veterinary hospitals.

Procedure
Records from January 2004 to December 2021 were evaluated for systolic, mean, and diastolic arterial pressures; numbers of hypertensive and hypotensive episodes; highest and lowest systolic arterial pressure differences; dose and duration of phenoxybenzamine; and presence of intraoperative arrhythmias. Phenoxybenzamine-pretreated dogs (Group PT, n = 33) and dogs not receiving phenoxybenzamine (Group N, n = 31) were compared. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to test for normality, Student’s t-test was used for normally distributed data, and Fisher’s exact test was used for ordinal and categorical data. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess effect of pretreatment with phenoxybenzamine on occurrence of hypotension and hypertension, allowing for adjustment for confounding variables (P < 0.05).

Results
Median (range) phenoxybenzamine dose was 0.46 (0.08 to 2.0) mg/kg, PO, q12h. Peak systolic and mean arterial pressures, lowest systolic and mean arterial pressures, duration of hypertension, duration of sinus tachycardia, number of hypotensive episodes, and duration of hypotension were not different between groups. More hypertensive episodes (P = 0.01) and anesthetic events involving hypertension (P = 0.02) were recorded in Group PT than in Group N.

Conclusion
In dogs undergoing adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma, phenoxybenzamine pretreatment as administered did not offer any cardiovascular benefits based on the measured variables, and may be associated with more intraoperative hypertensive episodes.

Clinical relevance
Intraoperative changes in cardiovascular variables are prevalent in dogs with pheochromocytoma undergoing adrenalectomy. Further evaluation of pretreatment with phenoxybenzamine is needed to determine its role in these cases.