Prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Veterinary Surgeons-A Cross-Sectional Survey.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) in veterinary surgeons using an online survey. STUDY DESIGN: An online survey was distributed to 1,031 diplomates of American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Responses were collected with data regarding surgical activities, experience with various types of MSS in 10 different body sites and attempts to reduce MSS. RESULTS: Two hundred and twelve respondents (21% response rate) completed the distributed survey in 2021. Ninety-three per cent of respondents had experienced MSS associated with surgery in at least one body part, with the neck, lower back and upper back frequently affected. Musculoskeletal discomfort and pain worsened with prolonged surgical hours. Forty-two per cent of them suffered from chronic pain persisting longer than 24 hours after surgeries. Musculoskeletal discomfort was common regardless of practice emphasis and procedure types. Forty-nine per cent of respondents with musculoskeletal pain had taken medication, 34% sought physical therapy for MSS and 38% ignored the symptoms. Over 85% of respondents showed more than some concern regarding career longevity due to musculoskeletal pain. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Work-related MSS are common in veterinary surgeons, and the results of this study warrant longitudinal clinical studies to determine risk factors and attention to workplace ergonomics in veterinary surgery.

[Reducing the impact of COVID-19 on radiation oncology units of developing countries: A rapid review and expert consensus]. / Reduciendo el impacto de COVID-19 sobre la radioterapia oncológica en países en desarrollo: revisión rápida y consenso de expertos.

OBJECTIVE: To generate recommendations on the management of radiotherapeutic treatments during the pandemic, adapted to a country with limited health resources. METHODS: We did a rapid review of the literature, searching for papers that describe any measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, as well as management guidelines to reduce the workload, in radiotherapy units. The following conditions were included in the scope of this review: gynecological tumors, breast cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, genitourinary tumors, head and neck tumors, skin cancer, tumors of the central nervous system, and lymphomas. An expert group discussed online the extracted data and drafted the recommendations. Using a modified Delphi method, the consensus was reached among 14 certificated radio-oncologists. The quality of the evidence that supported the recommendations on treatment schedules was assessed. RESULTS: A total of 57 documents were included. Of these, 25 provided strategies to reduce the risk of infection. Recommendations for each condiction were extracted from the remaining documents. The recommendations aim to establish specific parameters where treatments can be omitted, deferred, prioritized, and shortened. Treatment schemes are recommended for each condition, prioritizing hypo-fractionated schemes whenever possible. CONCLUSIONS: We propose strategies for the management of radiotherapy services to guarantee the continuity of high-quality treatments despite the health crisis caused by COVID-19.

OBJETIVO: Establecer recomendaciones para la toma de decisiones de manejo en radioterapia durante la pandemia de COVID-19, adaptadas a un país con recursos de salud limitados. MÉTODOS: A través de una revisión rápida de la literatura se buscaron publicaciones que describieran medidas para reducir el riesgo de infección por COVID-19, así como también pautas de manejo para reducir la carga de trabajo en las unidades de radioterapia. Se incluyeron en el alcance de esta revisión las siguientes patologías: tumores ginecológicos, cáncer de mama, tumores gastrointestinales, tumores genitourinarios, tumores de cabeza y cuello, cáncer de piel, tumores del sistema nervioso central y linfomas. Un grupo de expertos discutió en línea los datos extraídos y redactó las recomendaciones. Mediante un método Delphi modificado, se evaluó el consenso entre 14 radio-oncólogos certificados. Se evaluó la calidad de la evidencia que sustentó las recomendaciones sobre esquemas de tratamiento. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron un total de 57 documentos. De 25 trabajos se extrajeron las estrategias para reducir el riesgo de infección. De los restantes, se obtuvieron las recomendaciones para cada patología. Las recomendaciones están orientadas a establecer escenarios específicos donde se pueden omitir, diferir, priorizar y acortar los tratamientos. En el ítem de acortar se recomiendan esquemas de tratamiento para cada patología, priorizando los esquemas hipofraccionados cuando fue posible. CONCLUSIÓN: Se plantean estrategias para la gestión de los servicios de radioterapia con el objetivo de garantizar que los tratamientos de alta calidad para pacientes oncológicos sigan entregándose, pese a la crisis sanitaria ocasionada por COVID-19.

Reduciendo el impacto de COVID-19 sobre la radioterapia oncológica en países en desarrollo: revisión rápida y consenso de expertos / Reducing the impact of COVID-19 on radiation oncology units of developing countries: a rapid review and expert consensus

OBJETIVO: Establecer recomendaciones para la toma de decisiones de manejo en radioterapia durante la pandemia de COVID-19, adaptadas a un país con recursos de salud limitados. MÉTODOS: A través de una revisión rápida de la literatura se buscaron publicaciones que describieran medidas para reducir el riesgo de infección por COVID-19, así como también pautas de manejo para reducir la carga de trabajo en las unidades de radioterapia. Se incluyeron en el alcance de esta revisión las siguientes patologías: tumores ginecológicos, cáncer de mama, tumores gastrointestinales, tumores genitourinarios, tumores de cabeza y cuello, cáncer de piel, tumores del sistema nervioso central y linfomas. Un grupo de expertos discutió en línea los datos extraídos y redactó las recomendaciones. Mediante un método Delphi modificado, se evaluó el consenso entre 14 radio-oncólogos certificados. Se evaluó la calidad de la evidencia que sustentó las recomendaciones sobre esquemas de tratamiento. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron un total de 57 documentos. De 25 trabajos se extrajeron las estrategias para reducir el riesgo de infección. De los restantes, se obtuvieron las recomendaciones para cada patología. Las recomendaciones están orientadas a establecer escenarios específicos donde se pueden omitir, diferir, priorizar y acortar los tratamientos. En el ítem de acortar se recomiendan esquemas de tratamiento para cada patología, priorizando los esquemas hipofraccionados cuando fue posible. CONCLUSIÓN: Se plantean estrategias para la gestión de los servicios de radioterapia con el objetivo de garantizar que los tratamientos de alta calidad para pacientes oncológicos sigan entregándose, pese a la crisis sanitaria ocasionada por COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To generate recommendations on the management of radiotherapeutic treatments during the pandemic, adapted to a country with limited health resources. METHODS: We did a rapid review of the literature, searching for papers that describe any measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, as well as management guidelines to reduce the workload, in radiotherapy units. The following conditions were included in the scope of this review: gynecological tumors, breast cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, genitourinary tumors, head and neck tumors, skin cancer, tumors of the central nervous system, and lymphomas. An expert group discussed online the extracted data and drafted the recommendations. Using a modified Delphi method, the consensus was reached among 14 certificated radio-oncologists. The quality of the evidence that supported the recommendations on treatment schedules was assessed. RESULTS: A total of 57 documents were included. Of these, 25 provided strategies to reduce the risk of infection. Recommendations for each condiction were extracted from the remaining documents. The recommendations aim to establish specific parameters where treatments can be omitted, deferred, prioritized, and shortened. Treatment schemes are recommended for each condition, prioritizing hypo-fractionated schemes whenever possible. CONCLUSIONS: We propose strategies for the management of radiotherapy services to guarantee the continuity of high-quality treatments despite the health crisis caused by COVID-19.

Lung cancer risk in workers in the meat and poultry industries--a review.

Laboratory and in vivo studies in primates, and serological evidence in humans, indicate that food animal oncogenic viruses show potential for causing cancer in humans. However, until fairly recently, supporting analytic epidemiologic studies have been lacking and have concentrated on lung cancer. We conducted an extensive Medline search and reviewed 60 studies investigating lung cancer risk in highly exposed workers in the meat and poultry industries. The overwhelming majority of studies of different designs (including all the cohort mortality and cancer incidence studies) indicate at least a 30% excess risk of lung cancer in meat and poultry plant workers, even after controlling for smoking. Evidence points to food animal oncogenic microorganisms as one of the main causes. This has important public health implications because the general population is also widely exposed. Studies carried out thus far have not had sufficient statistical power to investigate other potentially carcinogenic exposures within the industries. Thus, large studies that can adequately control for occupational and non-occupational confounding factors are needed, so that the possible role of food animal oncogenic viruses in the occurrence of human lung cancer can be clearly defined.

Bartonellosis: an emerging infectious disease of zoonotic importance to animals and human beings.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a review of clinically relevant observations related to Bartonella species as emerging pathogens in veterinary and human medicine. DATA SOURCES: Literature as cited in PubMed and as generated by each of the authors who have contributed to various aspects of the clinical understanding of bartonellosis. HUMAN DATA SYNTHESIS: Important historical and recent publications illustrating the evolving role of animal reservoirs as a source of human infection. VETERINARY DATA SYNTHESIS: Comprehensive review of the veterinary literature. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to inducing life-threatening illnesses, such as endocarditis, myocarditis, and meningoencephalitis and contributing to chronic debilitating disease, such as arthritis, osteomyelitis, and granulomatous inflammation in cats, dogs, and potentially other animal species; pets and wildlife species can serve as persistently infected reservoir hosts for the transmission of Bartonella spp. infection to veterinary professionals and others with direct animal contact.

Pathology and toxicology findings for search-and-rescue dogs deployed to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack sites: initial five-year surveillance.

A long-term surveillance study was conducted on 95 search-and-rescue (S&R) dogs deployed to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack sites; an additional 55 nondeployed S&R dogs served as controls. After 5 years of surveillance, 32% of the deployed dogs have died and 24% of the nondeployed dogs. The mean age at the time of death in these 2 groups of dogs is not significantly different. Causes of death in both groups of dogs include inflammatory, degenerative, and proliferative conditions. No primary pulmonary tumors have been identified to date nor has any significant level of toxicant been found in the tissues from these dogs using assays for general organic compounds and metals or, specifically, for polychlorinated biphenyls. However, significant numbers of both deployed and nondeployed dogs have evidence of inhaled matter as demonstrated by the presence of anthracotic pigments or refractile particulate matter in pulmonary tissue. Although S&R activities in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks exposed dogs to a wide variety of potentially toxic compounds, to date, these dogs do not appear to suffer from higher mortality or increased pulmonary disease compared with nondeployed dogs. To the authors' knowledge, the current survey represents the first long-term and large-scale survey of the pathology and toxicology of S&R dogs deployed to a major disaster site.

Risk of transmission of leptospirosis from infected cattle to dairy workers in southern Israel.

BACKGROUND: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide, found predominantly in agricultural workers, port workers and dairy workers. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of disease transmission to dairy workers following an outbreak in 1999 of Leptospirosis hardjo in the dairy herds of two kibbutzim in southern Israel. METHODS: A seroepidemiologic survey of all the dairy workers from these two kibbutzim was conducted, including individual interview and examination. Data were collected on the presence of clinical symptoms of leptospirosis during the previous month. One month later the medical personnel on the two kibbutzim were contacted in order to determine if any worker had subsequently developed clinical signs or symptoms of leptospirosis. All dairy workers had blood drawn for serology. Those workers whose initial serology had been borderline for leptospirosis had a repeated serology test between 2 and 4 weeks later. Doxycycline was given prophylactically to all dairy workers on one kibbutz only. RESULTS: Either with or without chemoprophylaxis, no dairy workers exposed to herds infected with Leptospira hardjo showed evidence of seroconversion or disease. This indicated a low risk of transmission of this serovar from cows to dairy workers. CONCLUSION: Since human illness with leptospirae can cause illness associated with significant morbidity, we recommend that physicians make an informed decision regarding doxycycline prophylaxsis for dairy workers exposed to cattle herds infected with Leptospira hardjo.