Establishing the Most Important Clinical Skills for New Graduate Veterinarians by Comparing Published Lists with Regional Stakeholder Expectations: A Bangladesh Experience.

Veterinary clinical skills training is evolving rapidly around the world and there is increasing interest in Bangladesh in opening clinical skills laboratories and using models in teaching. The first clinical skills laboratory was opened at Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in 2019. The current study aimed to identify the most important clinical skills for veterinarians in Bangladesh to inform the further development of clinical skills laboratories and ensure resources are deployed effectively and efficiently. Lists of clinical skills were collated from the literature, national and international accreditation standards, and regional syllabi. The list was refined through local consultation, focused on farm and pet animals, and was disseminated via an online survey to veterinarians and final-year students who were asked to rate the level of importance of each skill for a new graduate. The survey was completed by 215 veterinarians and 115 students. A ranked list was generated with injection techniques, animal handling, clinical examination, and basic surgical skills among the most important. Some techniques requiring specific equipment and some advanced surgical procedures were considered less important. As a result of the study, the most important clinical skills for a new graduate in Bangladesh have been identified for the first time. The results will inform the development of models, the use of clinical skills laboratories, and the design of clinical skills courses for veterinary training. Our approach of drawing upon existing lists followed by local stakeholders consultation is recommended to others to ensure clinical skills teaching is regionally relevant.

Experimental long bone fracture healing in goats with cockle shell-based calcium carbonate bone paste.

Long bone fractures are common orthopedic conditions. There are numerous ways to repair these fractures. Bone grafting becomes necessary when a broken bone has a significant gap. However, due to insufficient donor volume and donor site morbidity, substitutes are required. In veterinary orthopaedics, calcium carbonate from cockle shells could be used as a bone biomaterial. We investigated its efficacy as a bone biomaterial repair for goat femoral fractures. The study included 10 healthy adult male Black Bengal goats weighing 8 kg and aged 12-13 months. The study includes control and treatment groups. Intramedullary pinning stabilized an 8-mm right femur diaphyseal fracture in the treatment and control groups. The treated group received 2 ml of bone paste in the fractured gap, whereas the control group left it empty. We examined all goats with X-rays on the 7th, 45th, and 60th days, followed by gross and histological findings. Due to callus bridging, radiographs revealed faster bone growth in the treated group than in the control group. Gross examination demonstrates the treated group had a larger fracture callus than the control group. Histopathology showed that bone formed faster and included more osteocytes, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and bony spicules than in the control group. The treated group had more periosteum osteoblasts, while the control group had fibroblasts. These results showed that the treated group had more osteogenic activity than the control group. This study demonstrates the potential of cockle shell-based calcium carbonate bone paste as a synthetic biomaterial for healing long bone fractures in goats.

Comparison of the degree of hip joint luxation induced by the lateral and medial surgical approaches used to generate vascular deprivation-induced necrosis of the femoral head in rats.

UNLABELLED: The rat model that is commonly used to study femoral head osteonecrosis involves the induction of osteonecrosis by surgery employing a lateral approach to the hip joint. However, this approach induces hip joint luxation, which means it is difficult to determine whether the osteonecrosis arises because of the vascular deprivation or because of the hip joint luxation. Whether or not femoral head osteonecrosis can be induced by the medial approach to the hip joint, which does not generate hip joint luxation, was assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: twelve 6-month-old F344 rats were subjected to the lateral or medial approach. RESULTS: four weeks after surgery, the lateral approach group showed luxation upon radiography, but the medial approach group did not. Histopathology revealed both groups exhibited osteonecrosis of the femoral head. CONCLUSION: a surgically induced model of femoral head osteonecrosis that employs the medial approach is a more effective model than that using the lateral approach.

Comparison between open and closed methods of herniorrhaphy in calves affected with umbilical hernia.

Umbilical hernias in calves commonly present to veterinary clinics, which are normally secondary to failure of the normal closure of the umbilical ring, and which result in the protrusion of abdominal contents into the overlying subcutis. The aim of this study was to compare the suitability of commonly-used herniorrhaphies for the treatment of reducible umbilical hernia in calves. Thirty-four clinical cases presenting to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong, Bangladesh from July 2004 to July 2007 were subjected to comprehensive study including history, classification of hernias, size of the hernial rings, presence of adhesion with the hernial sacs, postoperative care and follow-up. They were reducible, non-painful and had no evidence of infection present on palpation. The results revealed a gender influence, with the incidence of umbilical hernia being higher in female calves than in males. Out of the 34 clinical cases, 14 were treated by open method of herniorrhaphy and 20 were treated by closed method. Complications of hernia were higher (21%) in open method-treated cases than in closed method-treated cases (5%). Hernia recurred in three calves treated with open herniorrhaphy within 2 weeks of the procedure, with swelling in situ and muscular weakness at the site of operation. Shorter operation time and excellent healing rate (80%) were found in calves treated with closed herniorrhaphy. These findings suggest that the closed herniorrhaphy is better than the commonly-used open method for the correction of reducible umbilical hernia in calves.