Complete transposition of the great arteries with double outlet right ventricle in a dog.

A 2-year old intact male Collie dog presented to the cardiology service at Oregon State University for evaluation of cyanosis and suspected congenital cardiac disease. Echocardiography revealed a constellation of cardiac abnormalities including a single large vessel exiting the right ventricle with a diminutive left ventricular outflow tract, a ventricular septal defect, and marked concentric right ventricular hypertrophy with moderate right atrial dilation. Cardiac-gated computed tomography confirmed the previous anomalies in addition to supporting a diagnosis of complete transposition of the great arteries, double outlet right ventricle, and pulmonic hypoplasia with a single coronary ostium. Prominent bronchoesophageal collateral vessels were concurrently identified. Clinically, the dog was stable despite mild cyanosis that worsened with exercise; no intervention was elected at the time. This case report describes a rare combination of congenital cardiac defects and the usefulness of cardiac-gated cross-sectional imaging in the anatomic diagnosis.

Quantitative accuracy of the simplified strong ion equation to predict serum pH in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Electrochemical approach to the assessment of acid-base states should provide a better mechanistic explanation of the metabolic component than methods that consider only pH and carbon dioxide. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Simplified strong ion equation (SSIE), using published dog-specific values, would predict the measured serum pH of diseased dogs. ANIMALS: Ten dogs, hospitalized for various reasons. METHODS: Prospective study of a convenience sample of a consecutive series of dogs admitted to the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (MUVTH), from which serum biochemistry and blood gas analyses were performed at the same time. Serum pH was calculated (Hcal+) using the SSIE, and published values for the concentration and dissociation constant for the nonvolatile weak acids (Atot and Ka ), and subsequently Hcal+ was compared with the dog's actual pH (Hmeasured+). To determine the source of discordance between Hcal+ and Hmeasured+, the calculations were repeated using a series of substituted values for Atot and Ka . RESULTS: The Hcal+ did not approximate the Hmeasured+ for any dog (P = 0.499, r(2) = 0.068), and was consistently more basic. Substituted values Atot and Ka did not significantly improve the accuracy (r(2) = 0.169 to <0.001). Substituting the effective SID (Atot-[HCO3-]) produced a strong association between Hcal+ and Hmeasured+ (r(2) = 0.977). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Using the simplified strong ion equation and the published values for Atot and Ka does not appear to provide a quantitative explanation for the acid-base status of dogs. Efficacy of substituting the effective SID in the simplified strong ion equation suggests the error lies in calculating the SID.

Crossover clinical trial to determine the effect of manual acupuncture at Siguan points (bilateral LI4 and LR3) on intestinal motility in healthy subjects.

This study examined whether manual acupuncture at the Siguan points (bilateral points LI4 and LR3) affects intestinal motility in healthy human subjects. Twenty healthy male subjects were randomly assigned either to real acupuncture (RA) at Siguan points or sham acupuncture (SA) groups in a crossover manner. All subjects underwent two experimental sessions; the RA group in the first session was treated with SA in the second session after a 2-week washout period, and vice versa. Each subject took 20 radio-markers and was treated with acupuncture 0, 12, 24, and 36 hours after radio-marker intake. Radiographs were taken at 6, 12.5, 24.5, and 48 hours, and the effect of acupuncture on intestinal motility was evaluated based on the distribution of the radio-markers in the ileum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid/ rectum, and outside the body. Defecating habit was monitored during the trial, and complete blood counts were checked before and after the two acupuncture sessions. The RA and SA results showed extremely similar distributions of the radio-markers in these five regions of the alimentary canal and outside the body in radiographs taken at four different times, verifying that there was no effect of manual acupuncture at the Siguan points on intestinal motility, at least in healthy human subjects.