The objective of this work was to analyze the cases of otitis in companion animals treated at the Veterinary Hospital Jeremias Pereira da Silva / Universidade Federal do Piauí (UFPI) and the profile of antimicrobial drugs used in the treatment of these infections. A retrospective cross-sectional observational epidemiological study was carried out on the assisted animals with otitis at the Veterinary Hospital Jeremias Pereira da Silva / (UFPI), during the period from January 2015 to December 2020, through access to the registration system called “Doctorvet”, evaluating the characteristics of the patients treated, the diagnosis and therapy adopted and the clinical response to these services. Mixed breed dogs (MBDs), with bilateral presentation of this disease and the presence of comorbidities were frequent occurrences in the animals treated. Antibiotic prescriptions of aminoglycosides (Gentamicin and Neomycin) were the most used, in formulations associated with other substances, such as antifungals and anti-inflammatories, with the commercial presentation Aurivet being the most prescribed and the one that received the greatest number of favorable reports. However, the use of other different therapeutic protocols was evidenced without justification for this choice. Establishing therapeutic protocols to be followed by veterinary clinicians, when treating otitis, and monitoring the success or failure of these prescriptions, will contribute to reveal much more than the epidemiological profile of the etiologic agents, but the adequate use of antimicrobial agents, controlling the increase in rates of antibiotic resistance, as well as consolidating promising therapeutic approaches for these infections.

The aim of this study was to characterize and establish the prevalence of foot lesions and stages of footrot in sheep flocks in the State of Tocantins, Brazil, during dry and moist seasons. A total of 339 sheep (Ovis aries) were examined during the period of September 2014 to May of 2015. Procedures for animal examination and age estimation were performed. All animals were divided in three groups: G1, G2 and G3 using the Egerton's modified score system for footrot. Foot lesions were classified as: double sole (DS), overgrowth (OG), white line disease (WLD), moderate interdigital dermatitis (MID), severe interdigital dermatitis (SID), horizontal crack (HC) and other injuries (OI). No significant difference was observed when comparing the same group in different periods, however there was difference between groups in the same period. In dry and moist season, G1 was greater than G2 and G3. The most prevalent lesion per limb observed in dry and moist season was OG. This difference was also observed for DS, OG+WLD, OG+MID, OG+SID, OG+HC and OI. The only lesion that was more prevalent in dry season when compared to moist season was OG+DS. This exploratory study provides key insight into the prevalence of foot lesions of sheep in two distinct seasons, and the occurrence of concomitant lesions. Animals of all ages were classified as moderate to severe footrot according to the modified Egerton scoring system, during moist season.

Subclinical ketosis (SCK) is one of the main metabolic diseases to occur during the transition period in dairy herds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the localized incidence of SCK in dairy cows in the semi-arid region of the state of Paraíba, Brazil, and to correlate this data with the number of weeks of lactation and the body condition score (BCS). Samples were collected from the coccygeal vein of 257 lactating dairy cows, with a view to determining serum ketone and glucose body levels. Animals that presented serum ketone body levels equal to or greater than 1.2 mmol/dL were considered to have SCK. It was found that 5.45% of the dairy cows presented SCK. The weeks of lactation and the BCS had no influence (P > 0.05) on the levels of serum ketone bodies or glucose of the dairy cows. For serum ketone body levels, 94.55% (243) of the cows remained within the normal limits for metabolites. Most of the cows, 67.70% (174) were within normal serum glucose levels, while 23.35% (60) presented hypoglycaemia, and 8.95% (23) presented hyperglycaemia. The BCS and serum glucose levels are negatively correlated, with a coefficient of -0.1329 (P = 0.0335). No significance was found 0.087 (P = 0.1608) for the correlation between the BCS and serum ketone body levels. The localized incidence of SCK in this study was 5.45% of the total number of cows, with the BCS and number of weeks of lactation having no influence on incidence of the disorder.

Diarrhea has a multifactorial etiology and is one of the main diseases affecting dairy calves, promoting high mortality rates in the first weeks of life. This study aimed to assess diarrhea incidence and clinical aspects, as well as clinical responses to treatment (oral and intravenous) with electrolyte solutions. A total of 40 crossbred newborn calves were subjected to daily physical examination until 25 days. Calves with diarrhea (score 3) and dehydration (8% to 10%) received electrolyte replacement therapy orally or intravenously, according to estimated fluid loss, as well as a maintenance volume (oral). Blood and urine samples were collected between 16 and 24 hours after birth and at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days; in diarrheic animals, these materials were collected immediately after the identification of diarrhea and at 2, 12, 24, and 48 hours after treatment initiation. Globular Volume (GV) and Total Plasma Proteins (TPP) were evaluated, in addition to physicochemical urine characteristics. Failures in the transfer of passive immunity may have contributed to the occurrence of diarrhea in 30 calves (75%), which maintained good body condition with no complications. Urine analysis showed a higher pH in non-diarrheic calves (6.7) compared to diarrheic calves (6.2) (p=0.0029), indicating acidification; higher GV, TPP, and urine density were found for diarrheic calves, with reductions 2 hours after hydration and slight variations up to 48 hours, indicating the effectiveness of hydration and acidosis correction.

Complementary tests are essential for defining the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of diseases in animals. White blood count is the most common laboratory method for identifying and evaluating inflammatory processes in small animals. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate plasma fibrinogen and C-reactive protein as supplementary tools for diagnosing inflammatory processes in dogs, correlating them with the results of the white blood count and the clinical condition of the animal. The sample size was calculated considering the estimated population of dogs living in the rural area of Curuçá, PA, Brazil. The sample included randomly selected healthy and unhealthy dogs. The animals underwent a clinical examination and complete blood count, fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein tests. Of a total of 149 animals, 17.4% (26/149) had hyperfibrinogenemia, 39.6% (59/149) were C-reactive protein positive, and 48.3% (72/149) had leukocytosis. Of the cases of leukocytosis, 63.8% (46/72) were due to neutrophilia. The analysis of the plasma protein: fibrinogen ratio in animals with hyperfibrinogenemia showed that the increased results were related to inflammatory processes in 84.6% (22/26) of these dogs. The results showed that fibrinogen and C-reactive protein are promising tools to identify inflammatory processes in dogs even before the presence of clinical signs; therefore, they are considered supplementary routine care methods to detect recent inflammatory processes not yet identified in the white blood count.

This is the first report of equine nasal rhinosporidiosis in Mineiros, Goiás, diagnosed through the histopathological analysis of granulomatous masses removed from a horse’s nostril of a 12-year-old male horse, through a surgical procedure. Microscopy revealed a papillomatous tissue lesion covered by moderately hyperplastic squamous epithelium, rich, loose fibrocollagenous tissues, well vascularized, accompanied by an accentuated inflammatory reaction constituted by a mixture of macrophages, lymphocytes, plasmocytes, and smaller number of neutrophils, and numerous round to oval structures with a unilamellar wall and a central nucleus surrounded by basophilic granular material, which were morphologically compatible with Rhinosporidium spp. sporangia.

This study describes the findings of the clinical and anatomopathological diagnosis in cattle affected by perforated abomasal ulcers and with comorbidities. Twenty-five cattle were evaluated, young (n=8, aged less than two years) and adults (n=17, aged greater than two and a half years), diagnosed with perforated abomasal ulcers. Epidemiological information was retrieved from the medical records. Blood, ruminal fluid, and peritoneal fluid (PI) samples were collected for laboratory examination. Ultrasound examination, exploratory laparotomy, and post mortem examinations were performed for diagnostic purposes. The main clinical findings of perforated ulcers in the present study were: apathy, dehydration, intestinal hypomotility, diarrheal stools, hypomotile or atonic rumen, tachycardia, tachypnea, abdominal distention with bilateral bulging, and increased abdominal tension. The most frequent abnormal hematological findings were hypoproteinemia and neutrophilic leukocytosis with a left shift. The peritoneal fluid (PL) showed an inflammatory reaction in the cytology, characteristic of an exudate. A confirmatory diagnosis of peritonitis by ultrasonography was possible in five cases, and in two cases at exploratory laparotomy. In the post mortem examination, the ulcers were characterized as type 3, 4, or 5, with comorbidities present in 68% of the cases. It is necessary to combine ultrasonography with abdominal centesis and exploratory laparotomy procedures to suggest perforated ulcers. However, post mortem examination better characterizes the type of perforated ulcer present, particularly type 5.

The aim of the current study is to compare official methodologies (OM) and ultrasound spectroscopy (US) used to determine the physicochemical features of raw milk. Twenty-five (25) milk samples deriving from a rural property in Bacabeira County, Maranhão State, were assessed. Fat and protein contents, density at 15°C, cryoscopic index, total dry extract (TDE) and defatted dry extract (DDE) were determined based on official analytical techniques and ultrasound spectroscopy, in laboratory environment. Mean protein densities and contents determined through US and OM did not differ from each other (P > 0.05). Mean fat contents and mean values recorded for cryoscopic index, TDE and DDE - determined through US and OM - differed from each other (P = 0.026, P = 0.040, P < 0.001 and P = 0.014, respectively); positive correlations were observed in the analysis of these parameters (R = 0.470, R = 0.118, R = 0.087 and R = 0.315, respectively); methods’ accuracy reached 0.180, 0.058, 0.155 and 0.075, respectively. Ultrasound spectroscopy is a fast technique whose results correlate to those of official analyses. However, it is necessary adopting a specific profile by calibrating the equipment based on information deriving from official analyses. Results in the present study have suggested the need of conducting more comprehensive studies to validate its conclusions.

The aim of this study was to describe the macroscopic and histological lesions observed in domestic newborn felines with facial lesions characterized by holoprosencephaly associated with synophthalmia and arhinia. A feline with multiple craniofacial congenital anomalies was necropsied, and the brain was collected, followed by photodocumentation and histopathological processing with H&E. The diagnosis of alobar holoprosencephaly with grade (I) morphological lesions of the face was made through the anatomopathological changes observed during the clinical and necroscopic examination, characterized by deformation of the cerebral hemispheres, shown failure in the forebrain vesicle development, located in the cranial neural tube part, associated with craniofacial dysmorphisms. In the microscopic study of the CNS, lesions characterized by abnormal lamination of the cerebral hemisphere's outermost cell layers and multiple areas of vacuolization of the cortex and in the cerebellum low cell density of the granular layer, with the presence of large intracytoplasmic vacuoles and absence of Purkinje cells were observed. It was not possible to determine the deformation cause, since laboratory tests were not performed, as well as the association with the FeLV virus.

In the present work, the objective is to relate the anesthetic procedures performed in a specimen of Rhinella icterica that underwent femoral osteosynthesis, as well as the results obtained regarding anesthetic efficacy and safety, and vital signs measured during the perioperative period. Pre-anesthetic medication was performed with dextroketamine and morphine, from which light anesthesia was obtained. Anesthetic induction was performed in gas chamber with isoflurane to reach surgical anesthetic plane. The animal was monitored by evaluation of anesthetic plane, electrocardiogram, pulse oximetry, counting of gular movements and hart rate by vascular Doppler positioned in the sternum. During the entire perioperative period, care was taken to maintain adequate room temperature and skin moistening, in order to preserve organic functions at physiologic standards for the species. Complete anesthetic recovery occurred quickly compared to previously existing literature. The protocol proved to be effective in promoting general anesthesia and safe in terms of stability of evaluated vital signs, becoming an alternative to the use of tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) and eugenol. More study is necessary regarding particular anesthetic effects on each species, and, given the lack of information, it is important to consider physiologic characteristics of amphibians in general to minimize the risks.