Tolerability of naso-esophageal feeding tubes in dogs and cats at home: Retrospective review of 119 cases.

BACKGROUND: The use of naso-esophageal feeding tubes (NFT) at home could represent an alternative way to reduce the costs for owners and facilitate enteral feeding until recovery of a spontaneous appetite. OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of NFT at home in dogs and cats and evaluate the satisfaction of owners and their capacity to handle the device. ANIMALS: One hundred nineteen client-owned animals (90 cats and 29 dogs) which remained anorexic during hospitalization and were discharged with NFT for at least 24 hours after placement. METHODS: Medical records were reviewed retrospectively, and owners were contacted by telephone calls. Complications were reported according to their relative severity (minor and major). Owners were asked to report their experience and comfort with NFT management. RESULTS: Naso-esophageal feeding tubes were kept in place at home for a median of 6 days (range, 1-17) and 62.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 53.3-70.7) of animals recovered a spontaneous appetite while wearing NFT, 60% (95% CI: 44.4-75.6) of the remaining animals recovered a spontaneous appetite after removal. Overall complication rate was 65.5% (95% CI: 57.0-74.0), but only 18.5% (95% CI: 11.5-25.5) required a consultation and no life-threatening complication occurred. Owners were satisfied in 94.1% (95% CI: 89.9-98.3) of cases. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Although most animals discharged with NFT at home presented complications, no major adverse effects were reported and NFT were easily handled by owners. This study provides evidence that NFT can be well tolerated at home.

Recurrence and survival in dogs with excised colorectal polyps: A retrospective study of 58 cases.

BACKGROUND: Compared to humans, colorectal polyps are relatively rare in dogs. Epidemiological and prognostic data remain accordingly sparse, although they could help veterinary clinicians in the management of these cases. OBJECTIVES: To report the epidemiological data of dogs with colorectal polyps and identify factors associated with recurrence and survival. ANIMALS: Fifty-eight client-owned dogs with colorectal polyps admitted to 7 veterinary hospitals (53 dogs from France, 5 dogs from Spain, and 4 dogs from Portugal) were included. METHODS: Retrospective multicentric cohort study. Medical records and long-term outcome of the dogs were reviewed. When available, histological samples were reassessed by 2 board-certified pathologists according to the revised Vienna classification (RVC). RESULTS: The West Highland White Terrier (WHWT) breed was significantly associated with the presence of colorectal polyps (OR: 20; 95% CI: 7.5-52; P < .001). The overall median time to recurrence was not reached after 2000 days. The overall estimated median survival time was 1640 days. WHWT breed and larger polyps were significantly associated with a shorter time of polyp recurrence after surgical removal (respectively, P = .05 and P = .01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The probability of recurrence of colorectal polyps in dogs is low, but increased in WHWTs and larger polyps, which might benefit from routine screening after removal. No effective predictors of polyp recurrence and survival were identified using the RVC.

Interobserver agreement between non-cardiologist veterinarians and a cardiologist after a 6-hour training course for echographic evaluation of basic echocardiographic parameters and caudal vena cava diameter in 15 healthy Beagles.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cardiovascular focused assessment with sonography for trauma and triage (CV-FAST) interobserver agreement for echocardiographic parameters and caudal vena cava (CVC) diameter measurement, between a cardiologist and 2 non-cardiologists after a 6-hour training course. SETTING: University veterinary teaching hospital. ANIMALS: Fifteen healthy Beagle dogs. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Echocardiography parameters were assessed via standardized views. Caudal vena cava was assessed via a subxiphoid window (CVC-SubX) using 3 measurements (minimal and maximal CVC diameter, and collapsibility index) and via a dorsolateral window (CVC-DL) using 1 measurement (CVC diameter). Bland-Altman analysis assessed agreement of each non-cardiologist with the cardiologist; coefficients of variation (CoV) quantified variability between observers. The 95% limits of agreement (LOA) and CoVs were considered acceptable for left atrial diameter, left atrium to aortic ratio, normalized left ventricle diameter in diastole and systole but non-acceptable for fractional shortening and pulmonary vein to pulmonary artery ratio. For CVC-SubX, the 95% LOA for maximum CVC diameter were acceptable, while minimum CVC diameter and CVC collapsibility index were non-acceptable. The CoVs were good for maximum and minimum CVC (7%) and poor for collapsibility index (37%). For CVC-DL, the 95% LOA were non-acceptable, although the CoV was considered good (11%). CONCLUSIONS: A 6-hour training course in echocardiography allows non-cardiologists to assess left atrial diameter, left atrium to aortic ratio, normalized left ventricle diameter in diastole and systole, and CVCmax of the CV-FAST exam in healthy Beagles. Standardization of the CVC-SubX technique and assessment of the impact of the respiratory phase on CVC diameter in dogs is needed. Further studies are required to determine whether interobserver agreement remains acceptable when including different breeds. Assessment of basic echocardiographic parameters and the CVC to estimate volume status in small animal medicine merits further clinical evaluation.

Establishment of reference values of the caudal vena cava by fast-ultrasonography through different views in healthy dogs.

BACKGROUND: Clinical assessment of intravascular volume status is challenging. In humans, ultrasonographic assessment of the inferior vena cava diameter, directly or as a ratio to the aortic diameter is used to estimate intravascular volume status. OBJECTIVES: To ultrasonographically obtain reference values (RV) for caudal vena cava diameter (CVCD ), area (CVCa ) and aortic ratios using 3 views in awake healthy dogs. ANIMALS: One hundred and twenty-six healthy adult dogs from clients, students, faculty, or staff. METHODS: Prospective, multicenter, observational study. Two observer pairs evaluated CVCD by a longitudinal subxiphoid view (SV), a transverse 11th-13th right hepatic intercostal view (HV), and a longitudinal right paralumbar view (PV). Inter-rater agreements were estimated using concordance correlation coefficients (CCC). For body weight (BW)-dependent variables, RVs were calculated using allometric scaling for variables with a CCC ≥ 0.7. RESULTS: The CCC was ≤0.43 for the CVC/aorta ratio at the PV and ≤0.43 in both inspiration and expiration for CVC at the SV. The RVs using allometric scaling for CVCa at the HV for inspiration, expiration, and for CVCD at the PV were 6.16 × BW0.762 , 7.24 × BW0.787 , 2.79 × BW0.390 , respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The CVCD , measured at the HV and PV in healthy awake dogs of various breeds has good inter-rater agreement suggesting these sites are reliable in measuring CVCD . Established RVs for CVCD for these sites need further comparison to results obtained in hypovolemic and hypervolemic dogs to determine their usefulness to evaluate volume status in dogs.