Low-cost do-it-yourself (DIY) mannequin for blood collection: A comprehensive evaluation about its use in teaching.

The use of mannequins to practice different clinical procedures in undergraduate students complies with the 3R principle (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) without affecting professional competencies. However, commercial solutions are often expensive and therefore, not available for many schools. The main aim of this study was to describe the development and validation of an economical Do-It-Yourself mannequin for jugular blood collection from dogs. The use of the mannequin was evaluated by (1) assessment of the opinion of students and experts and (2) by conducting a pilot study where salivary biomarkers of stress were determined in students and dogs. The costs of the materials needed for the mannequin confection were less than 60 Euros and it was easily built in less than 1 h. The mannequin was very well accepted and scored by both, students and experts, being mostly liked a lot and considered it to be very useful for the practices (Scored 8, 9 or 10/10). Students that could first practice with the mannequin reported a self-perceived higher level of confidence and had lower levels of alpha-amylase in saliva after the procedure. Overall, the mannequin enables the initiation of blood sampling skills in agreement with 3R principles and is easy to perform, economically affordable and sustainable. This model could be adapted to other vein simulations and animal species, and has the potential to help students deal with stressful situations such as taking blood samples from a live animal.

Measurement of salivary adiponectin concentrations in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Measurement of salivary adiponectin could improve understanding of this adipokine's physiology, and its role in various clinical conditions. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the utility of a human adiponectin ELISA kit for measurement of salivary adiponectin in dogs, to compare serum and salivary adiponectin concentrations in a healthy dog population, and to evaluate possible effects of tooth-cleaning on serum and salivary adiponectin concentrations in dogs. METHODS: For analytical validation, precision, accuracy, and lower limit of quantification of the assay were determined with saliva samples. In addition, adiponectin concentrations were quantified in serum and saliva samples from 24 healthy dogs, and from 7 dogs with mild gingivitis before and after a tooth-cleaning procedure. RESULTS: The validation assays for salivary adiponectin had all coefficients of variation <15%, and recovery ranged from 85% to 120%. In the linearity test, interference was observed when measuring adiponectin in saliva, but this was solved by diluting samples 1:4. In healthy dogs, salivary and serum adiponectin concentrations were positively correlated (r = .650; P = .009). After the tooth-cleaning procedure, salivary adiponectin concentration increased on day 0 (P = .004), but by day 14, concentrations were less than prior to the procedure (P = .041). CONCLUSIONS: The human adiponectin ELISA kit can be used for precise and accurate salivary adiponectin measurement in dogs. Salivary adiponectin increased 24 hours after tooth-cleaning, possibly due to acute inflammation or adiponectin leakage from the blood after gingival trauma.