Mesenchymal stem cells have proven to be a promising alternative to conventional steroids to treat canine inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, their administration requires a washout period of immunosuppressive drugs that can lead to an exacerbation of the symptoms. Therefore, the feasibility and effects of the combined application of stem cells and prednisone in IBD-dogs without adequate response to corticosteroids was evaluated for the first time in this study over a long- term follow up. Two groups of dogs with IBD, one without treatment and another with prednisone treatment, received a single infusion of stem cells. The clinical indices, albumin and cobalamin were determined prior to the infusion and after one, three, six and 12 months. In both groups, all parameters significantly improved at each time point. In parallel, the steroid dosage was gradually reduced until it was suppressed in all patients a year after the cell therapy. Therefore, cell therapy can significantly and safely improve the disease condition in dogs with IBD receiving or not receiving prednisone. Furthermore, the steroid dosage can be significantly reduced or cancelled after the stem cell infusion. Their beneficial effects are stable over time and are long lasting.

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSCs) exhibit anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) have been reported as novel biomarkers of the inflammatory state; however, they have never been examined in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE) treated with Ad-MSCs. This study aimed to compare the clinical evolution and the changes in the NLR, PLR, and SII in dogs with CIE before and after cell therapy. Sixteen dogs with CIE were administered a single intravenous dose of Ad-MSCs. The canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI), NLR, PLR, and SII were assessed before treatment (T0) and at 2 (T2) and 9 (T9) months post-treatment and compared over time and with the reference values obtained from a group of healthy dogs. NLR, PLR, and SII were significantly increased at T0 compared to the reference values, decreasing significantly over time. At T9, the NLR and SII did not differ from the reference values, but PLR remained above the reference values. A correlation was observed between CCECAI and the three markers. These findings show that the clinical improvement of dogs with CIE treated with Ad-MSCs is accompanied by a normalization of the inflammatory status.

The transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block causes desensitization of the abdominal wall and peritoneum. Of all the approaches proposed to perform it, the two-injection-point TAP showed the best results in terms of the area reached by the anesthetic solution. However, to date, no clinical data exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra- and postoperative analgesic efficacy of a two-injection-point TAP block in dogs undergoing laparoscopic ovariectomy. A total of 26 animals were assigned to receive general inhalation anesthesia (control group), and 26 dogs were assigned to general inhalation anesthesia combined with TAP block (TAP group). The ultrasound-guided TAP block was carried out with a subcostal and cranial-to-ilium injection per hemiabdomen. The end-tidal concentration of isoflurane (EtISO) was recorded at different moments during the surgery. Postoperative pain was assessed at different time points during the first 24 h after surgery. The control group required significantly higher EtISO concentration during the ovarian resection and showed higher postoperative pain scores than the TAP group. Fewer dogs in the TAP group required intra- or postoperative rescue analgesia. TAP block can be implemented to improve postoperative pain management after laparoscopy, reducing the dosage of the systemic drugs used and, hence, their possible side effects.

The search for new biomarkers in patients with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE) is ongoing in the human and veterinary medicine fields. Oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde [MDA], reduced glutathione [GSH], and albumin) have been studied in humans with chronic enteropathies, but among them, only albumin has been studied in dogs with CIE. Moreover, the effect of mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs) treatment with or without prednisone on these parameters has never been studied in dogs with CIE. These parameters were compared between healthy dogs (n = 12) and dogs with CIE, and before and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the treatment with MSCs alone (n = 9) or together with prednisone (n = 11). The relationship between the Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity Index (CIBDAI) and oxidative stress was evaluated. Albumin was the only parameter that significantly differed between dogs with CIE and healthy dogs (p = 0,037). Differences were observed only in albumin values after combined treatment with MSCs and prednisone. No differences were observed in MDA and GSH after treatment with MSCs with or without prednisone. Albumin could help stage canine CIE, as well as its prognosis, as has already been demonstrated, although it is essential to evaluate this parameter for its antioxidant capacity, and therefore it could be a good biomarker of oxidative stress in this pathology. However, the treatment with MSCs seems unable to modify any of the analyzed oxidative stress parameters.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of the transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block on the blood cells and the inflammatory markers neutrophil– to– lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet– to– lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune– inflammation index (SII) after the laparoscopic ovariectomy (LapOV) in dogs. 72 healthy bitches undergoing LapOV were randomly allocated to the no– TAP group of dogs under inhaled anesthesia (IA), the TAP– S group (IA and TAP with saline), and the TAP– B group (IA and TAP with bupivacaine). The NLR, PLR, and SII were calculated 1 h before ovariectomy (T0) and at 2−3 h (T1), 6−8 h (T2), and 20−24 h (T3) post– surgery. The number of dogs requiring postoperative analgesic rescue with buprenorphine and the doses administered in each group were recorded. Significant changes were observed in all groups’ postoperative NLR, PLR, and SII over time. Between groups, no differences were observed in any of the ratios at any control point (NLR at T0−T3:p = 0.17, 0.36, 0.80, and 0.95; PLR at T0−T3:p = 0.70, 0.62, 0.21, 0.87; SII at T0−T3:p = 0.29, 0.65, 0.09, and 0.34). A significantly lower number of dogs required analgesic rescue in the TAP-B group (p = 0.0001) and a lower number of doses were administered (p = 0.001). There is no difference in the inflammatory response measured through the complete blood– derived inflammatory markers after the LapOV in dogs when the postoperative pain is managed entirely with opioids or with the TAP block with bupivacaine. The hydrodissection associated with the TAP block technique does not increase the inflammatory response.

This study aimed to assess trainee perceptions regarding the usefulness of an intensive hands-on minimally invasive surgery (MIS) training, as well as the subsequent implementation experience. An online questionnaire was emailed to 110 small animal veterinarians who attended the course between 2007 and 2017. The questionnaire comprised three sections: general attendee information, questions pertaining to the received laparoscopic and thoracoscopic training, and finally enquiries on cumulative post-training and current MIS practice. Forty-five veterinarians answered the questionnaire. Most respondents had prior laparoscopy and/or thoracoscopy experience (95.2 %), but close to half (46.7 %), modified their clinical practice as a result of the training. Seventy-five percent of the totally inexperienced participants started practicing MIS within two years of attending the course. A large proportion of respondents indicated their need for additional training for more advanced laparoscopy (71.1%) and thoracoscopy (77.8%) procedures. Accordingly, the main difficulty found by respondents regarding MIS implementation was insufficient training (37.8%). The most frequently encountered difficulty during procedures was bleeding (46.7%), while the most feared complication was related to anesthesia (31.1%). Ovariectomy and ovariohysterectomy were the most frequently performed minimally invasive procedures in trainee working centers. MIS training promotes the introduction of laparoscopy and thoracoscopy into clinical practice and expands the type of surgeries performed with these approaches. Nonetheless, a single intensive program does not comply with the diverse training needs of small animal practitioners.