Description of a novel ultrasound-guided percutaneous dilatational esophagostomy tube placement in dog cadavers.

BACKGROUND: Nutritional support has become an essential part of modern veterinary medicine. Among different techniques, esophagostomy tubes have been used extensively in dogs and cats. However, general anesthesia is typically required due to the critical step of passing an instrument orally to allow identification of the esophagus in the midcervical region. Therefore, clinicians commonly face a conundrum of poor general anesthesia candidacy for those who need an esophagostomy tube placed. Additionally, esophagostomy tubes are not a viable option for patients that have difficulty opening their mouth. Ideally, a technique that circumvents the step of passing an instrument orally would be developed. KEY FINDINGS: We report the successful development of a novel technique for esophagostomy tube placement using ultrasound guidance and serial percutaneous dilatation of the stoma in canine cadavers. Ultrasound guidance allowed for identification and avoidance of several vital structures in the cervical region. SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first report of an esophagostomy tube placement technique that circumvents the step of passing any instrument orally to identify the esophagus in the midcervical region. Future studies are warranted to determine if this technique can be performed in live dogs.

Evaluation of assays for quantification of DNA in canine plasma as an indirect marker of NETosis.

BACKGROUND: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NET), consisting of a filamentous DNA/chromatin-histone scaffold originating from neutrophils are part of the innate immune response, may be released under a variety of inflammatory conditions and are associated with an increased risk for thrombosis. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a SYTOX green fluorescence assay and a histone-DNA complex (hisDNA) ELISA for quantification of NET-related DNA in canine plasma. METHODS: The influence of variations in blood sample handling on assay results was tested. Accuracy of the SYTOX green fluorescence and the hisDNA ELISA was evaluated with dilutional linearity using serial dilutions. Interference was assessed by addition of purified bilirubin or hemoglobin. Precision was determined by calculating the intra- and inter-assay CV. RESULTS: Preanalytic sample handling did not influence DNA measurements by either assay. Citrate and EDTA plasma samples were equivalent. For the DNA fluorescence assay, dilutional linearity was poor due to autofluorescence, which was corrected by addition of canine plasma to the diluent. The presence of bilirubin and hemoglobin also increased autofluorescence, and resulted in falsely low concentrations of DNA. On the hisDNA ELISA, pigmentemia had no effect. CONCLUSIONS: Both assays as modified in this study are suitable for measuring DNA in canine EDTA or citrate plasma. However, performance of the fluorescence assay was impacted by pigmentemia, and it was less sensitive than the ELISA in detecting the presence of nucleosome material in the plasma.

Management of an invasive and metastatic Sertoli cell tumor with associated myelotoxicosis in a dog.

We describe the surgical and post-operative management of a large, invasive, and metastatic functional Sertoli cell tumor in a 9-year-old cryptorchid male Labrador retriever dog. Despite residual disease after surgery, bone marrow recovery occurred without administration of bone marrow stimulants and serum estradiol accurately predicted tumor recurrence.

Gestion d'une tumeur à cellules de Sertoli invasive et métastatique avec une myélotoxicose secondaire chez un chien. Nous décrivons la gestion chirurgicale et postopératoire d'une tumeur à cellules de Sertoli fonctionnelles, de grande taille, invasive et métastatique chez un chien Labrador retriever cryptorchide âgé de 9 ans. Malgré une maladie résiduelle après la chirurgie, le rétablissement de la moelle osseuse s'est produit sans l'administration de stimulants de la moelle osseuse et l'œstradiol sérique a fidèlement prédit la récurrence de la tumeur.(Traduit par Isabelle Vallières).