An asymptomatic three-year-old male European Domestic Shorthair cat was referred for an irregular heart auscultation. Apart from localized concentric left ventricular septal hypertrophy, echocardiography was normal. However, ventricular ectopy was observed on electrocardiography (ECG) during echocardiography. The cat died suddenly 55 minutes after the start of the subsequent Holter ECG. Analysis showed sinus rhythm interrupted by 192 single ventricular premature complexes, a ventricular couplet, two incidents of ventricular bigeminy and two runs of ventricular tachycardia (VT). The last run of VT deteriorated into ventricular fibrillation (VF) and ultimately cardiac arrest. Structural heart disease including mild feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or myocarditis, primary arrhythmia (channelopathy) or extra-cardiac disease were maintained as differential diagnosis. Unfortunately, a necropsy was declined leaving no definitive diagnosis available. In this case report, it is shown that VF due to ventricular ectopy is a possible cause of SCD even in asymptomatic cats with only mild echocardiographic signs of structural heart disease.

Horses in all equestrian disciplines are suffering from tendon injuries followed by several months of rehabilitation. Additionally, the scar tissue formed after injury is of inferior quality, resulting in high re-injury rates. Conventional treatments include rest, controlled exercise and anti-inflammatory drugs administration. In order to improve tissue regeneration and prevent reinjury, biological treatments, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are gaining popularity. In this survey, the use of MSCs as treatment for tendon injuries by Flemish equine veterinary practitioners was evaluated. Although the respondents were in general unsatisfied with conventional therapy, it remains the preferred treatment. Approximately half of the survey population (47%) have already used MSCs therapy to treat tendon injuries. The other participants reported the high costs and complexity as major limitations. According to the respondents, the availability of strong scientific evidence of the mechanisms of action, accompanied by clear practical guidelines, could help to increase the practical application of MSC therapy.

Antimicrobial prophylaxis aims at decreasing the risk of surgical site infections (SSI) by administration of antimicrobial drugs prior to surgery in animals at risk. Multiple risk factors for the development of SSIs have been determined in companion animals, and based on these risk factors, a flow diagram is proposed to identify dogs and cats that would benefit from antimicrobial prophylaxis. Furthermore, the most identified bacteria in healthy companion animals are listed per organ system with their recommended prophylactic antimicrobial drug(s). Besides administration of the optimal drug type, the route of administration, dose, dose interval, and duration of antimicrobial prophylaxis are important to help reduce the emergence of (multidrug-) resistant bacteria.

A five-year-old, intact, female, brown Labrador retriever was presented for loss of hair color (achromotrichia). Clinical and blood examinations revealed no significant abnormalities, except for a considerably reduced serum copper measurement. This has been described in dogs and cattle as achromotrichiosis due to hypocupremia. Interference of intestinal copper absorption due to an increased lead concentration in the drinking water was assumed to be the cause. The dog’s haircoat became brown again after serving tap water as drinking water and adding a copper supplement.

A three-year-old, male, intact Jack Russel terrier was referred for severe regenerative anemia and was diagnosed with non-associated immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. Treatment was implemented according to the ACVIM guidelines (Swann et al., 2019). As no response was seen eleven days later despite two immunosuppressive drugs, intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG, 1 g/kg) were administered. Three days later, septic shock and diffuse intravascular coagulation (DIC) developed. Echocardiography revealed pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade and thrombus in the right atrium. Fluid analysis confirmed septic pericarditis. A pericardial drain was placed following immediate reoccurrence of the pericardial effusion. Despite a stable hematocrit for several days following IVIG administration, a decrease in hematocrit was subsequently noted and splenectomy was performed. In total, six blood transfusions were given. Two years after presentation and intensive follow-up, immunosuppressive therapy was tapered, and the dog had excellent quality of life.

Equine abortion, stillbirth and neonatal death cause major economic losses to the equine industry worldwide. Both non-infectious and a wide range of infectious causes have been described. However, the relative contribution of pathogens to equine abortion, stillbirth and neonatal death is poorly documented, since available studies involve only a limited number of pathogens. Therefore, the objectives of the present retrospective monitoring study were to determine the prevalence of infectious agents associated with equine abortion and perinatal mortality in Belgium, and to set up a protocol usable under field conditions using polymerase chain reaction targeting. A real-time simple polymerase chain reaction for eight different abortifacient pathogens was conducted leading to the detection of at least one infectious agent in 37% of 105 analyzed cases. In the diagnosed cases, equine herpesvirus-1 was the most detected pathogen (49%), followed by Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (28%), Coxiella burnetii (18%), Leptospira interrogans (3%) and Neospora caninum (3%). None of the analyzed cases was positive for equine viral arteritis, equine herpesvirus-4 and Chlamydophila spp. In this study, PCR targeting is shown to have its value to detect a (co)-infectious cause in equine abortion, stillbirth and neonatal death, especially in field conditions where autolysis and contamination might preclude a full post-mortem examination protocol based on classical microbiological examination.

Cushing’s syndrome is a common chronic condition, with daily impact on the owner’s and dog’s life. The owners’ perception and quality of life are essential, as any negative impact could lead to cessation of medical care or decision of euthanasia. The present survey aimed at collecting the perception of Flemish and Dutch owners of dogs affected by Cushing’s syndrome on medical, practical, financial and emotional aspects. In total, the questionnaires of 218 respondents were available for analysis, highlighting owners’ expectations, quality of life, understanding of the disease and encountered difficulties, and identifying weak and strong points regarding ownerveterinary interactions, together with providing several demographic data related to canine Cushing’s syndrome in Flanders and the Netherlands.

Sonoelastographic techniques can complement conventional grey-scale and Doppler ultrasonography by evaluating tissue elasticity, which has the prospect to provide differentiation between malignant and benign conditions. Both technical and patient-related confounding factors are known to influence the reliability and reproducibility of elastographic methods. Therefore, the study was designed to assess liver stiffness in a diverse population of client-owned healthy dogs, evaluate the effect of patient characteristics on the elastography measurements and to assess intraobserver reliability. A total of forty dogs underwent two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D SWE) twice, performed by the same operator, one to six days apart. The average, median and maximum 2D SWE velocities for the linear probe were 2.50 +/- 0.067 m/s; 2.46 +/- 0.067 m/s; 3.58 +/- 0.13 m/s, respectively, and for the convex probe 0.99 +/- 0.11 m/s; 0.98 +/- 0.12 m/s and 1.34 +/- 0.21 m/s, respectively. No statistically significant effect (P> 0.05) on the 2D SWVs was seen of the dog-related characteristics sex, age, body weight and body condition score. The intraobserver agreement of 2D SWE was moderate with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the average, median and maximum 2D SWE being 0.69; 0.71 and 0.74, respectively. The moderate ICC and discrepant results obtained with different probes mandates standardization of patient-related and technical factors to overcome excessive variability in measurements in order to implement this technique in clinical practice.

Mast cell tumors are by far the most common skin tumors in dogs. The traditional treatment approach is the removal of the entire tumor, typically with 2 to 3 cm lateral margins and one deep facial plane. However, due to several factors, including anatomic location, condition of the patient, and potential involvement of vital tissues, it is not always feasible to take adequate lateral or deep margins, which increases the risk of local tumor recurrence. In cases where the traditional approach cannot be used, the use of tigilanol tiglate (Stelfonta®) as local therapy may offer a potential alternative treatment. Tigilanol tiglate has recently been registered as an intratumoral medicine for non-resectable, non-metastatic mast cell tumors. The aim of this narrative review is to provide a practical overview on the use of tigilanol tiglate in canine mast cell tumors. According to the available literature, tigilanol tiglate is a valuable alternative approach when surgical excision with complete margins is not feasible or desirable. Its application is described as easy-to-administer, and therefore this therapy can be applied by general practitioners as well as in specialized veterinary practices.

Marek’s disease (MD) has a high economic impact in poultry production worldwide. MD consists of several pathologic syndromes of which the most commonly encountered are lymphoproliferative syndromes such as acute MD. Sporadically, MD leads to central nervous system syndromes characterized by non-neoplastic brain pathology. In this case report, an onset of neurological signs on two different broiler farms, housing ‘slow-growing’ Hubbard JA 757 broilers, is described. On the first farm, clinical signs were observed from 42 days of age onwards and on the second farm, respectively from 42 (stable 1) and 30 days (stable 2) of age onwards. The neurological symptoms consisted of acute central nervous system signs, which started with flaccid neck paralysis. Histopathological examination revealed multifocal perivascular cuffing of CD3 positive mononuclear cells in the brain tissues. These findings pointed towards the development of transient paralysis. qPCR analysis confirmed the diagnosis. In broiler flocks, which only have a limited life span, vaccination is not common practice. In flocks of slow-growing breeds, outbreaks of MD might become more important again. Therefore, vaccination of slow-growing broilers against MD seems recommended.