The Wellness Ready Test (WRT) is a lateral flow, stall-side assay that measures equine insulin in whole blood and requires validation before recommending clinical use. We evaluated intra- and inter-assay precision and linearity and compared the WRT with a radioimmunoassay (RIA). Tested concentrations ranged from 695 pmol/L (100 μIU/mL). For 20 replicates at each insulin level, intra-assay CVs of the WRT for insulin were 13.3%, 12.9%, and 15.3% at low (139–278 pmol/L; 20–40 μIU/mL), intermediate (278–417 pmol/L; 40–60 μIU/mL), and high (>417 [ ] >60 μIU/mL) concentrations, respectively. For 10 replicates at each level (3 assay lots), inter-assay CVs were 15.9%, 11.0%, and 11.7%, respectively. In the weighted linear regression of 5 measured insulin concentrations against expected concentrations, R² = 0.98, slope = 1.02, and y-intercept = 14.4 pmol/L (2.08 μIU/mL). The Spearman correlation coefficient ( r_s) was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.85–0.94) between the WRT and RIA; the WRT = f(RIA) Passing–Bablok regression yielded the fit, y = 1.005x + 24.3 pmol/L (3.50 μIU/mL). The WRT result averaged 10.4% higher than the RIA result, with targeted bias of 25.9, 26.1, and 26.7 pmol/L (3.74, 3.76, and 3.84 μIU/mL) for cutoffs used to diagnose insulin dysregulation of 312, 347, and 451 pmol/L (45, 50, and 65 μIU/mL). Assay clinical sensitivities, specificities, and accuracies determined at the 3 selected clinical cutoffs and using the RIA as gold standard were 87–95%, 92–96%, and 91–95%, respectively ( n = 99 samples). Observed total error was 28.4–30.4%. The WRT had acceptable precision, excellent linearity, and good association with the RIA.

Background Current diagnostic evaluation of transudative effusions rarely aids in identifying an underlying etiology. Lipoproteins in the fluid might reflect the site or nature of vessel involvement. Objectives Improve the classification and diagnostic utility of pleural and peritoneal transudates in dogs and cats by investigating lipoprotein patterns in effusions. Compare these patterns with other peritonaeal and pleural fluid variables and underlying diseases. Animals Samples of transudates and serum from 18 cats and 37 dogs with transudative effusion (total nucleated cell count [TNCC] <5000 cells/μL) were analyzed. Methods Lipoprotein fractions, triglyceride, and cholesterol (CHO) concentrations were prospectively determined in paired fluid and serum samples. Standard fluid measurements were retrospectively collected. Results Two distinct fluid lipoprotein patterns were noted. Fluids rich in VLDL+IDL were associated with chronic kidney disease, acquired portosystemic shunts or protein-losing enteropathy (group I). Fluids rich in denser lipoproteins were associated with underlying heart disease, caudal vena cava syndrome or intracavitary neoplasia (group II). Group I and group II also had significant differences between fluid concentrations of CHO (x̄ = 8 vs 110 mg/dL) and TP (x̄ = 0.6 vs 3.8 g/dL), respectively. Five peritoneal transudates were triglyceride-rich (>100 mg/dL) and associated with pancreatitis. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Protein-poor (TP 2.5 g/dL) transudates were associated with distinct lipoprotein patterns and specific groups of disease. Effusions secondary to pancreatitis might be transudative and rich in triglycerides.

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of different categories of specific and general classification in canine cavitary effusions (CE), as well as their association with the underlying etiologies. The laboratorial and clinical data from 304 cases of canine CE were retrospectively assessed. In 32.9% (100 cases), at least one of the specific classification categories was established, with a subtotal predominance of neoplasia (42%), bacterial serositis (24%) and hemorrhage (16%). Neoplasia was confirmed by effusion cytology in 57.5% of the cases with histopathological confirmation. From the cases in which the specific classification was not obtained, 35.8% were classified as modified transudate, 30.4% as pure transudate, 21.1% % as exudate and 12.7% was not included in any general category. The most common causes of effusion among these cases were hypoproteinemia and/or hipoalbuminemia (HPHA) (25.8%), hepatopathy (22.5%), cardiac insufficiency (15.5%) and cytologically undetected cases of neoplasia (12.4%). In conclusion, HPHA, hepatopathy and neoplasia represents important etiologies for canine CE development. Classification of effusions, solely based on [TP] and TNCC, might be an inaccurate diagnostic tool of effusions. New laboratorial classification methods for canine CE should be researched.

Canine parvovirosis is a high mortality disease with acute clinical picture. However, there are few available resources to help stablish prognosis accurately. This study aimed to determine the prognostic threshold values for vital and hematological parameters of dogs naturally infected by the Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 (CPV). A retrospective study of 103 canine parvovirosis cases was carried out. Twenty seven percent of these (28/103) died, 96% (27/28) of which within the first four days of hospitalization. Deceased animals had significantly higher median values for heart (HR) and respiratory (f) rates, as well as significantly lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) than survivors. Severely leukopenic animals (<1,000 cells/μL), had a significantly higher mortality rate (68%, n=13) compared to that of other patients (P<0.0007). Animals with at least two of the following findings: severe hypotension (SBP< 90mmHg), tachycardia (HR > 150 bpm) and leukopenia, represented 34% (34/101) of the cases and had a survival rate of 29% (10/34), while animals with at most one of these parameters represented 66% (67/101) and had a survival rate of 94% (63/67). The presence of two or three abnormal parameters was significantly related to the higher death risk among dogs with parvovirosis (P<0.0001).

Seminoma is reported as a rare disease associated with specific micro-morphologic findings. In the present report, we describe the case of a testicular seminoma in a 7-year-old Holland Lop rabbit, in which the cytology presented an atypical pattern. Upon presentation, the left testicle was severely enlarged, and the patient also had a history of radiation therapy for a previously diagnosed thymoma. Following excision and histopathology of the abnormal organ, results showed a mixed intratubular-diffuse pattern with evidence of torsion. Moreover, cytology revealed a cohesive pattern with multiple malignancy criteria. To our knowledge, this is the first published report of a seminoma with these cytologic features.