ABSTRACT
Respiratory diseases (especially pneumonia) are very common disorders in pet rats. The suspected diagnosis is mostly based on the clinical signs, thoracic auscultation, and thoracic radiography. However, auscultation is insensitive in determining the severity of the disease, and radiographs are often unremarkable. Non-cardiac thoracic ultrasonography is increasingly used in veterinary medicine; however, it has not been described in detail in rats. Thoracic ultrasonic examination was conducted on 400 client-owned conscious pet rats. The rats were examined in the period from June 2023 to August 2023 in two veterinary clinics. Due to the small size of the animal, different anatomical considerations, and different evaluation protocols, as well as to meet the optimal outcome of detailed thoracic ultrasound, a standard methodological protocol was developed, and the name RATTUS (Rat Thoracic Ultrasound) was proposed. Typical signs of normal RATTUS were described (bat sign, lung sliding, A-lines, abdominal curtain sign, ski jump sign, lung pulse, seashore sign in M-mode, and bamboo sign). The new evaluation of lung inflation symmetry by substernal access was also described. The methodical approach presented and the normal findings description are proposed to be used for a standard/routine thoracic ultrasound examination in pet rats.
ABSTRACT
Although laboratory rabbits are commonly used as models of appendicitis in man, spontaneous appendicitis was only described ante-mortem in one pet rabbit with an acute abdomen. The aim of this article is to describe two spontaneous cases of appendicitis in pet rabbits, to describe therapeutic appendectomy, and to discuss the microbial flora of the inflamed appendix. A 5-month-old intact female and a 16-month-old, neutered male were presented to the veterinary clinic with restlessness, anorexia, and reduced faecal output. The main clinical findings were restlessness, severe discomfort on abdominal palpation, a mid-abdominal palpable tubulous mass and an elevated rectal temperature. Blood analyses showed lymphocytosis, monocytosis, and hyperglycaemia. Radiography was inconclusive. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a presence of a tubular structure with wall thicknesses of 4.2 and 3.7 mm in the two rabbits, respectively. The tubular structure had a rounded, closed end, and a multilayered wall, suggestive of appendicitis. Due to metabolic acidosis and poor prognosis, the first rabbit was euthanized. In the 16-month-old rabbit, appendectomy was performed. Recovery was uneventful, and 4 h after surgery, the rabbit started to become normally active. Postoperative care consisted of fluid therapy, multimodal analgesia, supportive care and prokinetics. Follow-up examinations at 10 days, 1 month, and at 11 months after the surgery did not show any abnormal clinical or laboratory findings. Histopathological examination of appendices from both rabbits showed gangrenous appendicitis. Aerobic cultivation showed the presence of pure culture of Klebsiella variicola sensitive to enrofloxacin, marbofloxacin, tetracycline, cefuroxime, trimethoprim sulphonamide, neomycin, and gentamicin. Restlessness associated with anorexia, abdominal pain, palpable abdominal mass, hyperglycaemia, lymphocytosis, and elevated rectal temperature may be indicative of inflammation within the gastrointestinal tract. Abdominal ultrasound is recommended in rabbits with showing these clinical signs because radiography can be inconclusive. Appendicitis is a life-threatening condition, which should be included into the list of differential diagnoses; for the rabbit, an acute abdomen and gastrointestinal stasis syndrome and must be treated immediately. K. variicola may be associated with appendicitis in rabbits as a causative agent or in association with appendix intraluminal dysmicrobia.