Mysterious Sudden Deaths in a Beef Cattle Herd

We love hearing about all the cool cases you get to see! Ali Attenasio from Cornell University shares an interesting case about sudden death in a herd of cattle.

"A well-isolated herd of 85 Lowline Angus beef cattle had 5 cases of sudden death in 3 years. They are grass-fed, pastured in the summer and fed dry hay and haylage in the winter. They are on a free-choice mineral mix and have inconsistent access to protein tubs. The animals that died were breeding females of different ages (4-9 y/o) with calves at their side, and some were at different stages of pregnancy. They each spontaneously fell, stiffened, and seized intermittently before expiring. Samples were collected post-mortem for the diagnostics.

Diagnostics: 

- Nitrates (from aqueous humor)- within normal limits

- CBC/Chem- High Potassium (4/5 animals), all other values within normal limits.

- Necropsy- no significant findings, blood clot near heart of one animal

- Selenium- low end of normal

- Lead- negative"

Curious to learn more about the diagnosis? Check back in on Tuesday to learn about the rest of the case!

Case: Cauda Equina Syndrome

Thank you to Thea Madill from St. George's University for sharing not one but TWO great pieces as part of our Cases and Abstracts category!  What a thorough and interesting case work-up - take a look!

A 3-year-old FS Great Dane was presented for orthopedic evaluation to further work-up the complaint of a chronic progressive hind limb weakness. Aside from this weakness, that was more notably reported when walking up and down stairs, she was behaving normal at home. On dynamic evaluation, she had an evidently ataxic gait in the hind limbs, and some urine dribbling was noted but initially thought to be due to excitement. On observation of her hindlimbs, her toenails were significantly shorter and appearing filed down in comparison to the forelimbs. She appeared painful when palpating her vertebrae moving caudally towards her tail and upon palpation of the lumbosacral joint, she let out a loud yelp. She was also painful when her tail was lifted.  At this point in the exam, it became suspicious that she was seeing the wrong department, and was referred to see a neurologist. This long-standing unknown cause of weakness was later diagnosed on MRI as Lumbosacral Stenosis, or Cauda Equina Syndrome. Demonstrated in this MRI T2 weighted image is narrowing of the spinal canal at the level of the lumbosacral articulation.

VIN Topic Rounds

Are you missing out on clinical rotations because of COVID-19? The VIN Student Team has you covered with Tuesday Topic Rounds.  During the month of February, join J. Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM (LAIM) for 30 minute, case-based sessions on Zoonotic Disease every Tuesday at 12ET. Everyone and all levels of experience are welcome. There will be time for Q&A and discussion following. The next session is Small Animal Zoonotic Cases on February 2, 2021 at 12 ET.

In this rounds:

• Discuss common and uncommon small animal zoonoses.
• Explore diagnostic, treatment, and management approaches.
• Learn through case-based discussion.

TO JOIN THE SESSION, LOG INTO THE VIN STUDENT CENTER AND CLICK THE GREEN BUTTON IN THE TOP RIGHT

The Veterinary Information Network (VIN) is here to help you as a vet student – especially during this worldwide pandemic. Membership is always free as a student!

An Open and Shut Case

Thank you to Thea Madill of St. George's University for sharing this case with us!  I'd say that's a definitive diagnosis! 

A good example of why visualizing INSIDE the oral cavity is an important part of our physical exam!

A retrospective study of prognostic indicators for survival in eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)

Take a peek at this study submitted to our Cases/Abstracts category by Ivana Levy of the University of Illinois!

A retrospective study of prognostic indicators for survival in eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)

Ivana H. Levy, Matthew C. Allender, Stephanie Principati, Julia Whittington, Sarah Reich, Krista A. Keller

Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory (Levy, Allender, Keller), Wildlife Medical Clinic (Whittington, Reich), Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine (Allender, Principati, Whittington, Reich, Keller), College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL

The eastern grey squirrel (EGS), Sciurus carolinensis, is a tree squirrel native to the eastern United States. This species commonly presents to wildlife medical clinics for a variety of human-related injuries including road traffic and pet predation. The purpose of this study was to determine prognostic indicators for survival in young or orphaned EGS. Retrospective data were collected from January 1, 2012 to June 12, 2018 for all EGS weighing less than 300 g that presented to the Wildlife Medical Clinic at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Click to read more ...