Top 5 Tips for Interpreting Heartworm Test Results

Clin Brief. March 2022;20(2):. 9 Refs

Andrew R Moorhead¹, Cassan N Pulaski

¹ College of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.

Author Abstract

Diagnosing heartworm infection in dogs and cats requires more than a patient-side antigen test. Discover one expert's approach to interpreting heartworm test results.

Article Tools:

Email to me

Archives Highlights:

Endoparasites of rabbits and hares.
Accurate gross and microscopic identification of endoparasites in rabbits and hares is an important element of the diagnostic work of veterinary anatomic pathologists. Given the zoonotic nature of rabbit and hare endoparasites, such as C. hepatica, E. cuniculi, and others, veterinary pathologists are ideally poised to make valuable contributions to the understanding of the disease ecology of these pathogens in the context of a One Health research program.

Effective treatment with afoxolaner (NexGard) of Trixacarus caviae in a pet guinea pig.
The animal was treated with a single oral dose of 2.50 mg/kg afoxolaner, and the lesions, presence/absence of mites, and intensity of pruritus were evaluated periodically until 2 months post-treatment. A week after the medication, the lesions were milder, but pruritus was still present and was attributed to the healing process. Further examinations showed significant improvement with the complete remission of clinical signs and no mites at the microscopic examination after 4 weeks.

Prevalence of discospondylitis and association with congenital vertebral body malformations in English and French bulldogs.
The prevalence of discospondylitis was 3.4 (1.6-6.7) times higher in French bulldogs and 4.3 (1.7-9.8) times higher in English bulldogs, compared with the overall hospital cohort. One or more vertebral malformations were present in 12 French bulldogs (92.3%), 6 English bulldogs (75.0%), and 1 "other" breed dog (1.1%). Discospondylitis was diagnosed adjacent to congenital vertebral body malformations in 12 (80%) intervertebral discs in French bulldogs and 5 (50%) intervertebral discs in English bulldogs.

Choose Your Own Adventure: Using Twine for Gamified Interactive Learning in Veterinary Anaesthesia.
Five interactive clinical cases were developed using Twine, simulating realistic anaesthesia scenarios with decision points and gamified elements, such as scoring systems and resource management. Feedback was highly positive; 90.8% found it effective for training, and 97.0% agreed it improved knowledge. User-friendliness was rated as "easy" or "very easy" by 94.6%. Regarding overall satisfaction, 96.7% of students described the workshop as "good" or "excellent".

Insights into breeding management and contraception in catteries - What we learned from an online survey.
Progestin pills (n = 235, 47.4 %) were most commonly administered in queens, followed by deslorelin implants (DSRI) (n = 53, 10.7 %). Regarding tomcats, the slight majority of breeders (n = 229, 53.3 %) did not use contraceptives, next common were DSRI (n = 141, 32.8 %). Within the study population, contraceptives were most popular in (Northern) Europe, while least common in Northern America.