Controversies in the use of hydroxyethyl starch solutions in small animal emergency and critical care

OBJECTIVES: To (1) review the development and medical applications of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) solutions with particular emphasis on its physiochemical properties; (2) critically appraise the available evidence in human and veterinary medicine, and (3) evaluate the potential risks and benefits associated with their use in critically ill small animals. DATA SOURCES: Human and veterinary original research articles, scientific reviews, and textbook sources from 1950 to the present. HUMAN DATA SYNTHESIS: HES solutions have been used extensively in people for over 30 years and ever since its introduction there has been a great deal of debate over its safety and efficacy. Recently, results of seminal trials and meta-analyses showing increased risks related to kidney dysfunction and mortality in septic and critically ill patients, have led to the restriction of HES use in these patient populations by European regulatory authorities. Although the initial ban on the use of HES in Europe has been eased, proof regarding the benefits and safety profile of HES in trauma and surgical patient populations has been requested by these same European regulatory authorities. VETERINARY DATA SYNTHESIS: The veterinary literature is limited mostly to experimental studies and clinical investigations with small populations of patients with short-term end points and there is insufficient evidence to generate recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, there are no consensus recommendations regarding the use of HES in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians and institutions affected by the HES restrictions have had to critically reassess the risks and benefits related to HES usage based on the available information and sometimes adapt their procedures and policies based on their reassessment. Meanwhile, large, prospective, randomized veterinary studies evaluating HES use are needed to achieve relevant levels of evidence to enable formulation of specific veterinary guidelines.

Pre-clinical in vivo models for the screening of bone biomaterials for oral/craniofacial indications: focus on small-animal models.

Preclinical in vivo experimental studies are performed for evaluating proof-of-principle concepts, safety and possible unwanted reactions of candidate bone biomaterials before proceeding to clinical testing. Specifically, models involving small animals have been developed for screening bone biomaterials for their potential to enhance bone formation. No single model can completely recreate the anatomic, physiologic, biomechanic and functional environment of the human mouth and jaws. Relevant aspects regarding physiology, anatomy, dimensions and handling are discussed in this paper to elucidate the advantages and disadvantages of small-animal models. Model selection should be based not on the 'expertise' or capacities of the team, but rather on a scientifically solid rationale, and the animal model selected should reflect the question for which an answer is sought. The rationale for using heterotopic or orthotopic testing sites, and intraosseous, periosseous or extraskeletal defect models, is discussed. The paper also discusses the relevance of critical size defect modeling, with focus on calvarial defects in rodents. In addition, the rabbit sinus model and the capsule model in the rat mandible are presented and discussed in detail. All animal experiments should be designed with care and include sample-size and study-power calculations, thus allowing generation of meaningful data. Moreover, animal experiments are subject to ethical approval by the relevant authority. All procedures and the postoperative handling and care, including postoperative analgesics, should follow best practice.

Animal models for peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis

The treatment of infectious diseases affecting osseointegrated implants in function has become a demanding issue in implant dentistry. Since the early 1990s, preclinical data from animal studies have provided important insights into the etiology, pathogenesis and therapy of peri-implant diseases. Established lesions in animals have shown many features in common with those found in human biopsy material. The current review focuses on animal studies, employing different models to induce peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis.

Land use imperils plant and animal community stability through changes in asynchrony rather than diversity

Human land use may detrimentally affect biodiversity, yet long-term stability of species communities is vital for maintaining ecosystem functioning. Community stability can be achieved by higher species diversity (portfolio effect), higher asynchrony across species (insurance hypothesis) and higher abundance of populations. However, the relative importance of these stabilizing pathways and whether they interact with land use in real-world ecosystems is unknown. We monitored inter-annual fluctuations of 2,671 plant, arthropod, bird and bat species in 300 sites from three regions. Arthropods show 2.0-fold and birds 3.7-fold higher community fluctuations in grasslands than in forests, suggesting a negative impact of forest conversion. Land-use intensity in forests has a negative net impact on stability of bats and in grasslands on birds. Our findings demonstrate that asynchrony across species—much more than species diversity alone—is the main driver of variation in stability across sites and requires more attention in sustainable management.

Joining the dots - understanding the complex interplay between the values we place on wildlife, biodiversity conservation, human and animal health: A review.

The value of wildlife has long been ignored or under-rated. However, growing concerns about biodiversity loss and emerging diseases of wildlife origin have enhanced debates about the importance of wildlife. Wildlife-related diseases are viewed through these debates as a potential threat to wildlife conservation and domestic animal and human health. This article provides an overview of the values we place on wildlife (positive: socio-cultural, nutritional, economic, ecological; and negative: damages, health issues) and of the significance of diseases for biodiversity conservation. It shows that the values of wildlife, the emergence of wildlife diseases and biodiversity conservation are closely linked. The article also illustrates why investigations into wildlife diseases are now recognized as an integral part of global health issues. The modern One Health concept requires multi-disciplinary research groups including veterinarians, human physicians, ecologists and other scientists collaborating towards a common goal: prevention of disease emergence and preservation of ecosystems, both of which are essential to protect human life and well-being.

Evaluation of farm-level parameters derived from animal movements for use in risk-based surveillance programmes of cattle in Switzerland

BACKGROUND: This study focused on the descriptive analysis of cattle movements and farm-level parameters derived from cattle movements, which are considered to be generically suitable for risk-based surveillance systems in Switzerland for diseases where animal movements constitute an important risk pathway. METHODS: A framework was developed to select farms for surveillance based on a risk score summarizing 5 parameters. The proposed framework was validated using data from the bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) surveillance programme in 2013. RESULTS: A cumulative score was calculated per farm, including the following parameters; the maximum monthly ingoing contact chain (in 2012), the average number of animals per incoming movement, use of mixed alpine pastures and the number of weeks in 2012 a farm had movements registered. The final score for the farm depended on the distribution of the parameters. Different cut offs; 50, 90, 95 and 99%, were explored. The final scores ranged between 0 and 5. Validation of the scores against results from the BVD surveillance programme 2013 gave promising results for setting the cut off for each of the five selected farm level criteria at the 50th percentile. Restricting testing to farms with a score ≥ 2 would have resulted in the same number of detected BVD positive farms as testing all farms, i.e., the outcome of the 2013 surveillance programme could have been reached with a smaller survey. CONCLUSIONS: The seasonality and time dependency of the activity of single farms in the networks requires a careful assessment of the actual time period included to determine farm level criteria. However, selecting farms in the sample for risk-based surveillance can be optimized with the proposed scoring system. The system was validated using data from the BVD eradication program. The proposed method is a promising framework for the selection of farms according to the risk of infection based on animal movements.

Timely Reporting and Interactive Visualization of Animal Health and Slaughterhouse Surveillance Data in Switzerland

The reporting of outputs from health surveillance systems should be done in a near real-time and interactive manner in order to provide decision makers with powerful means to identify, assess, and manage health hazards as early and efficiently as possible. While this is currently rarely the case in veterinary public health surveillance, reporting tools do exist for the visual exploration and interactive interrogation of health data. In this work, we used tools freely available from the Google Maps and Charts library to develop a web application reporting health-related data derived from slaughterhouse surveillance and from a newly established web-based equine surveillance system in Switzerland. Both sets of tools allowed entry-level usage without or with minimal programing skills while being flexible enough to cater for more complex scenarios for users with greater programing skills. In particular, interfaces linking statistical softwares and Google tools provide additional analytical functionality (such as algorithms for the detection of unusually high case occurrences) for inclusion in the reporting process. We show that such powerful approaches could improve timely dissemination and communication of technical information to decision makers and other stakeholders and could foster the early-warning capacity of animal health surveillance systems.