Comparison of efficacy and safety of preventive measures used against canine leishmaniasis in southern European countries: Longitudinal retrospective study in 1647 client-owned dogs (2012-2016).

The best preventive strategy for canine leishmaniasis is, to date, unknown. In the last few years, new preventive measures have become available in Europe, including vaccination against leishmaniasis and the use of domperidone. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the different preventive measures available against leishmaniasis in client-owned dogs. A database search of medical records was carried out in 52 private veterinary practices located in endemic areas of canine leishmaniasis in Spain, Italy and Portugal. Healthy seronegative dogs were included in the study. Serology was repeated at least 6 months later, and was used to retrospectively classify dogs into healthy, infected or sick. A total of 1647 dogs were included in the study. The use of preventive measures in this population was widespread. The single most utilized measure was repellents alone in 45.7% of dogs, followed by the combination of repellents and vaccination in 23.0%, repellents and domperidone in 11.3%, vaccination alone in 4.2%, vaccination and domperidone in 2.7%, domperidone alone in 2.3%, and the combination of the three measures in 0.2% of dogs. No preventive measure was applied in 10.7% dogs. The incidence of clinical leishmaniasis in the group with no preventive treatment applied was 12.5%. In the groups where prevention was applied, the reported incidence was the following: 10.1% for the vaccination only group, 4.5% for repellents only group, 4.0% for repellents + vaccination group, and 0.5% for repellents + domperidone group. No dogs in the groups of domperidone, vaccination + domperidone, and combination of the three measures developed clinical leishmaniasis. All preventive measures resulted in a significantly lower incidence of leishmaniasis compared to not applying any measure, except for vaccination alone. The majority of preventive strategies used, with exception of vaccination alone, decreased the incidence of leishmaniasis significantly. Adverse events, mild and self-limiting in most of the cases, were reported in 5.2% of dogs and were significantly more common in dogs following vaccination. In conclusion, this is the first large-scale field study investigating the efficacy and safety of the preventive measures used routinely against leishmaniasis in client-owned dogs. Most preventive strategies used, with exception of vaccination alone, had some benefit over not applying any preventive. In this field study, the use of repellents showed a good degree of protection in dogs living in endemic areas of canine leishmaniasis. Although lower numbers of dogs are included, the use of domperidone appeared to provide additional protection. The role of vaccination and its combination with other preventive strategies needs further study.

Acute anterograde intussusception as a late complication of distal gastric bypass.

Small bowel intussusception is an uncommon cause of adult intestinal obstruction after gastric bypass for morbid obesity. It usually affects the Roux or the common limb at the jejunojejunostomy site and is mainly retrograde. An altered motility of the Roux limb seems to be the main explanation for its developement. We report the case of a patient with a late acute anterograde intussusception after a previous distal Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Clinical, radiological and operative findings are presented and surgical solutions described in the literature are reviewed.

European surveillance of emerging pathogens associated with canine infectious respiratory disease.

Canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD) is a major cause of morbidity in dogs worldwide, and is associated with a number of new and emerging pathogens. In a large multi-centre European study the prevalences of four key emerging CIRD pathogens; canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV), canine pneumovirus (CnPnV), influenza A, and Mycoplasma cynos (M. cynos); were estimated, and risk factors for exposure, infection and clinical disease were investigated. CIRD affected 66% (381/572) of the dogs studied, including both pet and kennelled dogs. Disease occurrence and severity were significantly reduced in dogs vaccinated against classic CIRD agents, canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus 2 (CAV-2) and canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), but substantial proportions (65.7%; 201/306) of vaccinated dogs remained affected. CRCoV and CnPnV were highly prevalent across the different dog populations, with overall seropositivity and detection rates of 47% and 7.7% for CRCoV, and 41.7% and 23.4% for CnPnV, respectively, and their presence was associated with increased occurrence and severity of clinical disease. Antibodies to CRCoV had a protective effect against CRCoV infection and more severe clinical signs of CIRD but antibodies to CnPnV did not. Involvement of M. cynos and influenza A in CIRD was less apparent. Despite 45% of dogs being seropositive for M. cynos, only 0.9% were PCR positive for M. cynos. Only 2.7% of dogs were seropositive for Influenza A, and none were positive by PCR.

Prevalence of feline herpesvirus-1, feline calicivirus, Chlamydophila felis and Mycoplasma felis DNA and associated risk factors in cats in Spain with upper respiratory tract disease, conjunctivitis and/or gingivostomatitis.

Objectives Our objective was to perform the first multicentric study in Spain to evaluate the prevalence of feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1), feline calicivirus (FCV), Chlamydophila felis and Mycoplasma felis in cats with upper respiratory tract disease (URTD), conjunctivitis and/or gingivostomatitis (GS) compared with control cats; and to evaluate risk factors for these clinical conditions. Methods Conjunctival and oropharyngeal swabs were collected and a questionnaire regarding signalment, lifestyle, vaccination history and clinical signs was obtained for each cat. Swabs were tested for each pathogen by real-time PCR. Results The study population consisted of 358 cats, including 98 control cats. Among the 260 diseased cats, 127 cats presented with URTD, 149 cats had conjunctivitis, 154 cats were suffering GS; many cats presented more than one clinical condition. The prevalence observed of FHV-1, FCV, C felis and M felis was, respectively, 28.3%, 48.0%, 20.5% and 46.5% in cats with URTD; 24.2%, 43.6%, 19.5% and 38.3% in cats with conjunctivitis; and 15.6%, 58.4%, 9.1% and 37.7% in cats with GS. Prevalences in the control group were 6.1%, 15.3%, 2.0% and 20.4%, respectively. Coinfections were common among all groups of cats. Risk factors were identified for all groups. FHV-1, FCV and C felis were associated with URTD and conjunctivitis. FCV was strongly associated with GS. M felis was present in a high percentage of the population in all groups, but its role in these clinical conditions remains uncertain. Vaccination was protective for URTD and GS but not for conjunctivitis. Conclusions and relevance This epidemiological study describes, for the first time, prevalence for FHV-1, FCV, C felis and M felis in Spain. In general, the prevalences found are similar to those reported in other countries. Factors associated with disease expression were also identified, which are relevant for practitioners.

Adrenohepatic fusion: Adhesion or invasion in primary virilizant giant adrenal carcinoma? Implications for surgical resection. Two case report and review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Adrenohepatic fusion means union between the adrenal gland and the liver, intermingling its parenchymas. It is not possible to identify this condition by image tests. Its presence implies radical and multidisciplinar approach. PRESENTATION OF CASES: We report two female cases of 45 and 50 years old with clinical virilization and palpable mass on the abdominal right upper quadrant corresponding to adrenocortical carcinoma with hepatic fusion. The contrast-enhanced tomography showed an indistinguishable mass involving the liver and the right adrenal gland. In the first case, the patient had a two-time operation, the former removing only the adrenal carcinoma, and the second performing a radical surgery after an early relapse. In the second case, a radical right en bloc adrenohepatectomy was performed. Both cases were pathologically reported as liver-infiltrating adrenal carcinoma. Only in the second case the surgery was radical effective as first intention to treat, with 3 years of disease-free survival. DISCUSSION: ACC is a rare entity with poor prognosis. The major indicators of malignancy are tumour diameter over 6cm, local invasion or metastasis, secretion of corticosteroids, virilization and hypertension and hypokalaemia. The parenchymal fusion of the adrenal cortical layer can be misdiagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma with adhesion with the Glisson capsule. AHF in such cases may be misinterpreted during surgery, what may impair its resectability, and therefore the survival. The surgical treatment must be performed en bloc, often using liver vascular control. Postoperative treatment must be offered immediately after surgery. CONCLUSION: We report two consecutive rare cases of adrenohepatic fusion in giant right adrenocortical carcinoma, not detectable by imaging, what has important implications for the surgical decision-making. As radical surgery is the best choice to offer a curative treatment, it has to be performed by a multidisciplinary well-assembled team, counting with endocrine and liver surgeons, and transplant surgeons in case of vena cava involvement, in order to maximize the disease-free survival.

Mitral approach in prosthetic endocarditis with calcified annulus and abscess.

Abscess resection and prosthesis reimplantation is the only effective treatment for mitral prosthesis endocarditis with extensive annular abscess, but it has high morbidity and mortality when associated with severe mitral annular calcification in the atrial and ventricular walls. We describe a technique that allows repair of the abscess cavity, reconstruction of the annulus, and implantation of a new mitral prosthesis when there is severe adjacent myocardial calcification, so decreasing the reoperation risk.

[Coronary artery bypass surgery using the mini-extracorporeal circulation system: a Spanish unit's experience]. / Cirugía coronaria con mini-circulación extracorpórea: experiencia de un grupo en España.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The increasing use of percutaneous interventions has resulted in a significant reduction in coronary artery bypass grafting. Today, patients referred for surgery are older, have more comorbidities, and have undergone previous percutaneous intervention, and their ventricular function is poorer. As a result, surgery has attempted to improve its results by adopting a number of different strategies. The aim of this study was to investigate and describe one cardiac surgery unit's initial experience with coronary artery bypass grafting using mini-extracorporeal circulation (MECC), which had become its technique of choice. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 408 patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting using MECC between January 2004 and April 2007 was carried out. Of the 408, 329 (80.6%) were men, their mean age was 63.5 years (28-83 years), 63% had hypertension, 49.3% had diabetes, 69% had hyperlipidemia, and 52% were smokers. RESULTS: The surgical mortality rate predicted by the logistic EuroSCORE was 3.7% (range, 1-38). Overall, 34% of patients had left main coronary artery disease and 87% had three-vessel disease. In 74%, complete revascularization was carried out using a mean of 2.97 (range, 1-7) grafts per patient. A mammary artery graft was used in all cases. The in-hospital mortality rate was 0.74%. There were few postoperative complications: 0.98% of patients required further surgery because of bleeding, 3.4% had a significantly elevated troponin-I level, 6.4% developed kidney failure, and 0.5% suffered a stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Coronary artery bypass grafting using MECC enabled complete revascularization to be performed in most patients, and morbidity and mortality rates were low.