Question
In sea turtles presenting for cold-stunning (sustained hypothermia), what blood analytes routinely evaluated at intake provide the most prognostic value?
Clinical bottom line
Category of ...research question
Prognosis.
The number and type of study designs reviewed
Ten studies were included in this evaluation including the following study designs: eight retrospective case series, one cross-sectional, and one retrospective cohort.
Strength of evidence
Weak.
Outcomes reported
The most consistent finding across all included studies in cold-stunned sea turtles was acidosis (suspected both respiratory or metabolic components) characterised by reduced blood pH, elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), and reduced partial pressure of oxygen (pO2). However, this finding was not necessarily linked with failure of rehabilitation. Rather, sea turtles presenting for cold-stunning that did not survive rehabilitative therapy were typically in extreme states of homeostatic derangement involving acidosis, but often in conjunction with additional abnormalities (e.g. anaemia, sepsis, organ failure or dysfunction, pneumonia, etc.).
Conclusion
As might be expected, the evaluated literature did not reveal a single or series of blood analytes that were definitively linked with the success or failure of rehabilitation in sea turtles presenting for cold-stunning. However, they did identify analytes that may provide the most clinical value in this clinical situation including packed cell volume (PCV), estimated white blood cell count (WBC), total and / or ionised calcium, pH, potassium (K), and lactate. Review of the available studies on the topic provides insightful information that can aid clinicians addressing this syndrome to triage and treat affected individuals most effectively. It also elucidated areas of opportunity for further research.
How to apply this evidence in practice
The application of evidence into practice should take into account multiple factors, not limited to: individual clinical expertise, patient’s circumstances and owners’ values, country, location or clinic where you work, the individual case in front of you, the availability of therapies and resources.
Knowledge Summaries are a resource to help reinforce or inform decision making. They do not override the responsibility or judgement of the practitioner to do what is best for the animal in their care.
The Rhynonyssid mesostigmatic mite,
, is a well-documented endoparasitic hematophagous arthropod of the respiratory tracts of multiple avian species, particularly Estrildid finches and canaries. In ...this retrospective study, 175 medical and 278 pathology records for the Gouldian finch (
) population (N = 377) at the San Diego Zoo between 2013 and 2021 were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of ivermectin-based prophylaxis. A multivariable negative binomial regression model was constructed to evaluate the population effects of monthly treatments on morbidity or mortality associated with respiratory mites. While controlling for other factors in the model, the prophylactic treatment did not significantly reduce the monthly rate of mite-associated morbidity or mortality (IRR = 1.017, 95% CI: 0.997-1.036,
= 0.0759); however, low proportions of the population were prophylactically treated over time. Different factors were significant when separately evaluating adjusted associations with respiratory morbidity and mortality. The findings suggest increased rates of respiratory morbidity for each successive year of the study period (IRR = 1.180, 95% CI: 1.046-1.342,
= 0.0090) and increased rates of mite-associated mortality occurring annually between May and October (IRR = 1.697, 95% CI: 1.034-2.855,
= 0.0404) compared to the wet winter season. Our findings highlight the need to continually evaluate and optimize treatment regimens in zoological collections. Further investigations into this host-parasite relationship and potential treatments and preventive therapies are warranted.
A 3‐year‐old, male, entire African pygmy hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) was presented for a 10‐day history of hyporexia, mucoid green faeces and lethargy. Survey radiographs revealed a left caudal ...abdominal mass effect with cranial displacement and gas distension of the intestinal loops. During exploratory laparotomy, the cause of the mass effect was revealed to be grossly enlarged seminal vesicles, which were excised. Histopathology revealed uniform polycystic glandular architecture, consistent with benign cystic hyperplasia. The patient recovered and was clinically healthy at the last follow‐up examination. This is the first detailed report describing the antemortem diagnosis of benign seminal vesicular cystic hyperplasia resulting in presumptive clinical gastrointestinal disease in an African pygmy hedgehog.
Background
Rapid and accurate markers to aid diagnosis of sepsis are needed in neonatal foals. The CBC variable red blood cell distribution width (RDW) to platelet ratio (RPR) is associated with ...inflammatory response and linked to poor outcomes of sepsis in human patients.
Hypothesis
Explore the correlation of RPR with sepsis in neonatal foals and evaluate RPR predictive and prognostic value.
Animals
Three hundred seventeen hospitalized neonatal foals ≤7 days of age that had a CBC and physical exam performed at admission between 2012 and 2021.
Methods
Retrospective case‐control study. Clinical records were used to calculate sepsis scores and define groups. Red blood cell distribution width to platelet ratio was calculated and compared between groups (septic vs nonseptic) based on Kruskal‐Wallis and Wilcoxon signed‐rank tests. A multivariate logistic regression model to predict sepsis was created. The cutoff for RPR was obtained based on the maximal Youden Index. The Kaplan‐Meier method and the log‐rank test were used to estimate survival curves and compare survival rates based on RPR.
Results
Red blood cell distribution width to platelet ratio was significantly higher in septic foals (Median = 0.099, confidence interval CI 0.093; 0.108) than in sick nonseptic (0.085, CI 0.083; 0.089) and healthy foals (0.081, CI 0.077; 0.086; P < .0001). Red blood cell distribution width to platelet ratio was able to predict sepsis with high accuracy (AUC = 82.1%). The optimal RPR cutoff for sepsis was 0.09.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
Red blood cell distribution width to platelet ratio calculation is practical, inexpensive, and based on CBC‐derived data. Calculation of RPR along with CBC can aid in the diagnosis of sepsis and estimation of outcome.
Past studies have shown a link between maternal condition or resource availability, and the resultant sex ratio of offspring in avian species, both wild and domesticated. This study utilized 200 male ...and 400 female chicks from a W-36 white leghorn parent stock and assessed the effects of three diets with different caloric and protein concentrations on the sex ratios of the Hy-Line W-36 laying hens. As expected, the development of both parent and filial generations was significantly affected by diet or egg composition, respectively. Sex ratio was not significantly different from an assumed population proportion of 0.50 across all experimental groups, but did approach significance among offspring of parents switched from “High” to “Control” diets at 17 weeks of age. Results suggest that continual availability of either high- or low-nutrient density feed resources does not predispose hens to bias the sex ratio of their offspring; however, a sudden change in diet, particularly to one of lower protein concentration, may influence such an effect. Further trials are needed to assess the efficacy of diet alteration prior to reproductive maturity as a means of sex allocation manipulation.
Hatchability and duckling quality are of the utmost importance for commercial hatcheries. Many factors can affect hatchability and quality of the newly hatched ducklings. The importance of egg shell ...quality has been studied extensively in both turkey and chickens, however very little research has been directed toward ducks. This trial explored the effect that the overall shape of a duck egg plays on the moisture loss, hatchability, shell thickness, and pore concentration of eggs.
PDF