A 12-year-old, male mongrel dog was presented for a 6-month history of a progressive eyelid mass of the right upper eyelid. The dog's medical history reported long-term bilateral topical application ...of 0.03% tacrolimus ophthalmic ointment for third eyelid plasmoma and treatment cycles with systemic corticosteroids for a long-standing atopic dermatitis. Complete physical and ophthalmologic examination of the dog as well as complete blood count, serum biochemical analysis, urinalysis, thoracic radiographs, and abdominal ultrasonography were performed. The mass involved the skin and the margin of the upper eyelid, which was ulcerated. Conjunctival hyperemia, and the thickening and partial depigmentation of the third eyelid due to plasmoma were present. The plasmoma was observed bilaterally. Histological examination of the eyelid mass showed an invasive proliferation of malignant epithelial cells with intermixing of both adenocarcinomatous and malignant squamous cell components. An eyelid adenosquamous carcinoma was diagnosed. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report on an adenosquamous carcinoma of the eyelid in a dog. Immunosuppression has been found to be a significant clinical risk factor for cutaneous adenosquamous carcinoma in humans and was considered a possible risk factor for this dog.
To describe multiple congenital ocular anomalies in three litters of Jack Russell Terrier puppies.
Seven purebred Jack Russell Terrier puppies from three related litters and their four parents.
...Medical records of the puppies and their parents were evaluated. All dogs underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, followed by bilateral ocular ultrasonography in two of the puppies with complete corneal opacity. One eye from an affected puppy was subjected to histopathology. A complete database of pedigrees was built, and individual inbreeding was evaluated.
The most commonly diagnosed ocular anomalies in the puppies were: various anomalies of the fundus (12/14 eyes); microphthalmia (10/14 eyes); sclerocornea (8/14 eyes); and persistent pupillary membranes (7/14 eyes). Six out of seven puppies had at least two ocular abnormalities, and only one puppy was normal. Four out of seven puppies had sclerocornea, a particular corneal opacity to date described only in Spanish Podenco dogs. No ocular abnormalities were found in the parents examined (4/4). Analysis of the pedigrees showed that all the puppies and two parents were inbred, and the individual values of the inbreeding puppies were greater than 6.25% in two litters.
Inbreeding with closely related Jack Russell Terriers may result in severe congenital eye abnormalities in puppies.
Background. The ‘RISchio CArdiovascolare nei pazienti afferenti all’ Area Vasta In Dialisi' (RISCAVID) study is an observational and prospective trial including the whole chronic haemodialysis (HD) ...population in the northwest part of Tuscany (1.235 million people). The aim of the study was to elucidate the relevance of traditional and non-traditional risk factors of mortality and morbidity in HD patients as well as the impact of different HD modalities. Methods. A total of 757 HD patients (mean age 66 ± 14 years, mean dialytic age 70 ± 76 months, diabetes 19%) were prospectively followed up for 30 months and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular (CV) mortality and non-fatal CV events (acute myocardial infarction and stroke) were registered. At the time of the enrolment, demographic, clinical and laboratory data of the whole population were entered into a centralized database. Serum albumin, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were centrally determined at the start of the study. Patients were stratified into three groups according to the HD modality: standard bicarbonate HD (BHD) (n = 424), haemodiafiltration (HDF) with sterile bags (n = 204) and online HDF (n = 129). The Cox proportional hazards regression assessed adjusted differences in CV morbidity and mortality risk; a multivariate analysis was also performed. Results. All-cause and CV mortality was 12.9%/year and 5.9%/year, respectively. Patients with combined high levels of CRP and pro-inflammatory cytokines showed an increased risk for CV (RR 1.9, P < 0.001) and all-cause mortality (RR 2.57, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis adjusted for comorbidity and demographic showed CRP as the most powerful mortality predictor (P < 0.001) followed by IL-6. The Cox proportional hazards regression assessed that online HDF and HDF patients had a significantly increased adjusted cumulative survival than BHD (P < 0.01). Conclusions. Data at 30 months from this study showed the synergic effect of CRP and pro-inflammatory cytokines as the strong predictors of all-cause and CV mortality. HDF was associated with an improved cumulative survival independent of the dialysis dose.
Aims: To evaluate the outcome of surgical management of entropion of the upper and lower eyelids in Shar Pei dogs which had previously undergone temporary palpebral tacking, using the Stades forced ...granulation procedure of the upper eyelid only.
Methods: Medical records were retrospectively searched to identify Shar Pei dogs referred for bilateral entropion of both the lower and upper eyelids, and that were treated with the forced granulation procedure of the upper eyelid only. Dogs were included if they had previously undergone unsuccessful temporary palpebral tacking and had at least three follow-up examinations in the 30 days following surgery.
Results: Twenty-seven Shar Pei dogs with a median age of 7.9 (min 4, max 24) months were included in the study. Before surgery, all dogs showed signs of severe ocular discomfort with bilateral keratitis and visual deficit due to blepharospasm, enophthalmos and protrusion of the third eyelid. In 13/54 eyes, keratitis was associated with a corneal ulcer. When re-examined 4 weeks after surgery, correction of the upper eyelid entropion and associated trichiasis resolved ocular signs in 50/54 eyes. Mild bilateral lower entropion remained in two dogs postoperatively, which underwent revision surgery with the Hotz-Celsus technique. There were no cases of long-term recurrence of entropion or ocular irritation in the 38 eyes (19 dogs) which were re-examined 1 year after surgery.
Conclusion and clinical relevance: The forced granulation procedure performed on the upper eyelid only was effective for correction of entropion in the Shar Pei dogs included in this study. In our experience, it is preferable to operate on the upper eyelid alone, rather than attempting to correct upper and lower entropion during the same surgical operation. The dog can then be reassessed a few weeks later to determine whether the lower entropion is anatomical or secondary to the severe blepharospasm resulting from the painful ocular irritation.
Bullous keratopathy occurs in dogs, cats and humans, and it is diagnosed by clinical and ophthalmic presentation. A 20 days old septic calf developed an acute bilateral ocular abnormality, with mild ...ocular discharge and corneal opacity. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy showed a severe central cornea oedema with a subepithelial bulla. The clinical diagnosis was bilateral bullous keratopathy; it was treated with glucose 35% ointment. After 2 weeks, corneal bullas were reabsorbed, and mild focal areas of corneal oedema were present bilaterally. Three weeks after discharging, the calf was hospitalised again for severe dyspnea, recumbency and depression and was euthanised due to worsening of clinical conditions. A necropsy was performed. Clinical signs, ophthalmic examination and histopathologic findings were suggestive of bullous keratopathy. Bullous keratopathy might be rare but due to the importance of predisposing diseases (i.e. septicaemia), early diagnosis and proper therapy could be useful to reduce farmers’ economic losses.
The aims of this study were to analyze the inbreeding (F) in a colony of Labrador Retriever (LR) guide dogs using information from pedigrees and to verify its role in increasing the occurrence of ...various genetic diseases (hereditary eye diseases, heart problems, hip and elbow dysplasia). Pedigree data and medical reports were collected for 40 LR bred for training by the National Guide Dog School (NGDS) of Scandicci (Italy). The chi-square independence test for two effects was performed: inbreeding level and disorders occurrence. The main disorder highlighted was elbow dysplasia (ED) (17.5%, 95% CI 8.40–26.60%). The number of inbred animals was 15 (37.5%) with an average inbreeding coefficient of 0.017. The association between inbreeding levels and disorders was not significant as there was a similar percentage of inbred animals and non-inbred animals among the sick. The results highlight that disease occurrence does not depend on low inbreeding levels.
A 6‐year‐old, intact, male English cocker spaniel was referred for treatment of chronic conjunctivitis and unilateral keratitis. The dog was diagnosed with bilateral immune‐mediated ...keratoconjunctivitis sicca, treated with topical cyclosporine 0·2% ointment and sodium hyaluronate eye drops and improved considerably. After 2 months, pulmonic stenosis was diagnosed, and the dog commenced treatment with oral atenolol; the ophthalmological disease worsened dramatically within a few days. The ophthalmic signs rapidly improved after discontinuation of atenolol, and there was bilateral complete remission after 3 weeks. No oral β‐blocker therapy was reintroduced, and thereafter, keratoconjunctivitis sicca was well‐controlled with topical therapy.
Objective
To describe a modified H‐figure sliding skin flap for treating eyelid central neoplasms and to evaluate the cosmetic and functional results of this reconstructive blepharoplasty.
Material ...and methods
Eight dogs affected by eyelid neoplasia involving more than one‐third of the central part of the margin underwent an en bloc rectangular surgical removal of the neoplasia. Reconstructive surgery was performed using a temporal horizontal H‐figure sliding skin flap.
Results
At short‐term follow‐up visits, seven dogs showed no signs of ocular discomfort, whilst one exhibited mild blepharospasm and ocular discharge associated with partial necrosis of the flap. At the 60‐day follow‐up, all dogs showed good eyelid margin reconstruction and no signs of lagophthalmos or ocular discomfort. Secondary trichiasis was observed in one dog.
Clinical significance
The procedure allowed a well‐positioned, fully mobile eyelid. The secondary trichiasis observed in one dog did not cause evident ocular discomfort at 6‐month follow‐up.
To assess the effect of food intake on the pharmacokinetics of grapiprant administered orally at 2 mg/kg, and to estimate its oral bioavailability in dogs.
Eight healthy female Labrador Retriever ...dogs, aged 4-10 years were used. In the initial trial two dogs were administered a 0.5 mg/kg I/V bolus of grapiprant dissolved in ethanol. In the second trial, six dogs were assigned to two treatment groups, using a randomised cross-over design, and received 2 mg/kg of grapiprant orally, as pure powder, after fasting for 12 hours or after being fed. Blood samples were collected at preassigned times up to 36 hours after administration, and concentrations of grapiprant in plasma determined using validated high performance liquid chromatography.
After I/V administration in the two dogs the terminal half life was 5.30 and 6.06 hours, clearance was 444 and 476 mL/hours/kg, and volume of distribution was 3,642 and 3,883 mL/kg. Compared with fasted dogs, oral administration in fed dogs resulted in reduced median peak concentrations in plasma (1,598 vs. 614 ng/mL) and delayed median time of peak concentration (1.0 vs. 3.0 hours). The estimated bioavailability in fasted and fed dogs was 111.9 and 59.1%, respectively. Concentrations of grapiprant in plasma following oral administration, in either fed or fasted dogs, remained higher than 164 ng/mL for up to 6 hours. This concentration has been estimated to be the minimal effective concentration required to control pain in dogs.
Oral administration of 2 mg/kg grapiprant in fed and fasted dogs resulted in different pharmacokinetics of the drug, but did not influence the length of time when concentrations in plasma exceeded theoretical effective concentrations. Further studies are necessary to verify these findings using pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic studies and in clinical subjects.
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