The epidemiology of canine ear diseases in Northwest China: Analysis of data on 221 dogs from 2012 to 2016.

Background and Aim: Ear disease is relatively important in veterinary medicine as it significantly affects the quality of life of pets. Two hundred and twenty-one cases of canine ear diseases were collected and collated at the Xi'an Teaching Hospital of Northwest A&F University from 2012 to 2016. An epidemiological analysis was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and causes of various ear diseases in various breeds of dogs in Xi'an. Materials and Methods: Data were collected and statistically analyzed by reviewing previous cases and obtaining medical history data and laboratory results. This study included the following experiments: systematic examination of the animals' skin, auricular skin scraping test, ear canal endoscopy, and examination of ear canal secretion. Results: The top three dog breeds most commonly afflicted with ear diseases in Xi'an were Toy poodles, Cocker Spaniels, and Golden Retrievers, accounting for 18.5%, 10.4%, and 9.5% of the total cases, respectively. The prevalence was the highest in August and September, with male dogs having a higher prevalence rate than female dogs. Common ear diseases were categorized as otitis externa, otitis media, otitis interna, or ear hematoma. Conclusion: This study determined the prevalence of external otitis, ear hematoma, otitis media, and inner otitis in dogs in the Xi'an area. These results can help expand the current understanding of the development and epidemiology of canine ear diseases and provide a reference for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Comparison of anaesthetic and analgesic effects of emulsified isoflurane used alone or combined with lidocaine and fentanyl in dogs.

AIM: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a combination of emulsified isoflurane, lidocaine, and fentanyl (EI-L-F) compared with the efficacy of emulsified isoflurane alone (EI), a combination of emulsified isoflurane and lidocaine (EI-L) or emulsified isoflurane and fentanyl (EI-F) for anaesthetising dogs. METHODS: Eight mongrel dogs were anesthetised with EI (8 mL/kg/hour), EI-L (3 mg/kg/hour lidocaine and 6 mL/kg/hour of emulsified isoflurane), EI-F (1.5 µg/kg/hour fentanyl and 6 mL/kg/hour of emulsified isoflurane), and EI-L-F (5 mL/kg/hour of emulsified isoflurane, 1 µg/kg/hour of fentanyl and 2.4 mg/kg/hour of lidocaine). Each dog received all four treatments and there was a 15-day washout period between the treatments. The dogs' anaesthesia and analgesia scores and physiological parameters were determined before and 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 minutes after the administration of anaesthetic agents. RESULTS: The dogs in each of the four groups became laterally recumbent within 1 minute. Respiration rate and heart rate increased (p<0.05) during the first 5 minutes of anaesthesia in all groups. Respiration rate in the EI-F-L group was higher (p=0.037) than other groups from 30 to 50 minutes. Heart rate was higher in the EI than EI-F-L group (p=0.018) from 10 to 20 minutes, then returned to near baseline. Arterial oxygen saturation decreased during the period of anaesthesia but was higher (p=0.032) from 10 to 50 minutes in EI-F-L group than in other groups. The total anaesthesia scores in the EI-L-F group were higher than the EI and EI-L groups (p<0.05). The mean time to body movement was 5 (SD 2), 5 (SD 2), 7 (SD 2) and 8 (SD 2) minutes for the EI, EI-L, EI-F and EI-F-L groups, respectively. The mean time to standing was 8 (SD 2), 9 (SD 2), 10 (SD 2) and 13 (SD 3) minutes for the EI, EI-L, EI-F and EI-F-L groups, respectively. No excitement was observed during recovery after anaesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: The EI-F-L combination that was used in this study provided an adequate anaesthesia effect in dogs, which was characterised by adequate analgesia and muscle relaxation without any complications.

Effect of the addition of tramadol to a combination of tiletamine-zolazepam and xylazine for anaesthesia of miniature pigs.

This study investigated the effects of a combination of tiletamine-zolazepam and xylazine plus tramadol (TZXT) and compared the efficacy of this combination with that of tiletaminezolazepam and xylazine (TZX) for providing anaesthesia in Chinese experimental miniature pigs. Fourteen healthy, eight-month-old miniature pigs of both sexes were immobilised with TZXT or TZX on two different occasions. The pigs' immobilisation and analgesia scores and baseline physiological parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate, non-invasive systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressures, arterial haemoglobin oxygen saturation and rectal temperature) were determined before and five, 10, 30, 45, 60, 80 and 100 minutes after the administration of TZXT or TZX. Pigs in both groups became laterally recumbent within three minutes. Some physiological parameters were changed after administration of the drug combinations, but they remained within biologically acceptable limits and were not significantly different between the two treatments. The use of TZXT resulted in better induction time and quality of recovery compared with TZX, with higher scores for sedation, analgesia, muscle relaxation, posture and auditory response. The animals were much calmer during recovery after TZXT immobilisation.