Direction of travel may influence gait characteristics and thereby both determination of local reference intervals and discriminatory ability between normal and abnormal limbs. Consistent walkway room setup and use of multiple passes in both directions appear sensible in order to minimise error between measurements at different times, and to compensate for the effect of direction of travel on outcome measures. Effect of osteoarthritis OBJECTIVESTo evaluate the effect of the degree of osteoarthritis on the measurement of patella tendon angle (PTA) and determine intra-and inter-observer variability. METHODSRetrospective observational clinical study using preoperative medio-lateral surgical planning radiographs for tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA). Degree of osteoarthritis scored by two individuals. Measurement of PTA performed by three different individuals on 87 stifle radiographs by the standard conventional tibial plateau method. Measurement of PTA performed on three occasions, with at least seven days between measurements. RESULTSThe osteoarthritis score agreement was 48%. Weighted Kappa analysis revealed a fair strength of agreement between observers. The intra-observer average bias between PTA measurements 1 and 3 ranged from −0.38 to −0.94°. Inter-observer bias in angle measurement ranged from −0.92 to −2.00°. Observer 1 had the narrowest range of PTA differences (12.1°), and observer 3 the highest (23.5°). Observer 2 had the lowest mean bias (−0.38°). The mean bias was lowest between observers 1 & 2 (−0.92°) and highest between 1 & 3 (−2.0°). The mean intra-observer standard deviation of the PTA measurement differences was 2.90° and inter-observer was 2.26°. Kruskal-Wallis testing revealed no evidence of a difference in PTA with regards to degree of osteoarthritis present. There was no evidence of a change in variability of the PTA with higher or lower osteoarthritis scores. STATEMENT (CONCLUSIONS)Overall degree of osteoarthritis did not appear to affect the variability of the patellar tendon angle measured. Variability in PTA measured between observers may affect the clinical outcome of surgery.Medio-lateral humeral intracondylar fissure screw placement -4.5 mm titanium screws Guy BeynonFitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, United Kingdom OBJECTIVESEvaluating the influence of categorical patient variables on the time elapsed from the surgical date and date of the final recheck following treatment of humeral intracondylar fissure in dogs with medio-lateral placement of 4.5 mm titanium screws. METHODSRetrospective data analysis was applied to 100 dogs treated for humeral intracondylar fissure. The breed, sex, age, weight, date of surgery and date of final recheck were reviewed. RESULTSThirty eight of the study group diagnosed with a humeral intracondylar fissure were treated with a 4.5 mm titanium screw placed in a medio-lateral direction. The mean duration of time between the surgical date and final recheck was 69 days. Six of the cases required revision surgery due to inadequate screw placement. Five case...

An eight-year-old male neutered Jack Russell terrier presented with fever, shoulder and elbow pain and progressive right forelimb lameness. Haematology revealed a non-regenerative anaemia and marked thrombocytopenia. Radiography and CT of the thorax and abdomen revealed bilateral asymmetrical osteogenic-osteolytic changes to the scapulae, humeri, femurs, pelvis, ribs and vertebrae. Histopathology of the bone marrow of the left humerus confirmed a metastatic skeletal adenocarcinoma. This case features a presumptive manifestation of disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow with a bilateral asymmetrical distribution in a metastatic adenocarcinoma of unknown primary origin. Disseminated carcinomatosis of the bone marrow should be included in the differential diagnosis with polyostotic osteolytic and osteogenic, bilateral asymmetrical lesions in the long bones, vertebrae, ribs and pelvis.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of osteoarthritis on the measurement of patella tendon angle (PTA) and determine intraobserver and interobserver variability. Study design: Retrospective clinical study. Sample population: Eighty-seven mediolateral radiographs that were obtained prior to tibial tuberosity advancement. Methods: Radiographic osteoarthritis was scored by 2 observers using guidelines derived from the International Elbow Working Group Protocol. Patella tendon angle was measured by 3 observers on 3 occasions, with at least 7 days between measurements. The data were statistically analyzed via weighted κ and Kruskal-Wallis testing. Results: A fair strength of agreement was found among observers scoring osteoarthritis, with the same grades in 48% of radiographs. The intraobserver average bias between PTA measurements 1 and 3 ranged from −0.38 to −0.94 . Interobserver bias in angle measurement ranged from −0.92 to −2.00 . Observer 1 had the narrowest range of PTA differences (12.1 ), and observer 3 had the highest range of PTA differences (23.5 ). Observer 2 had the lowest mean bias (−0.38 ). The mean bias was lowest between observers 1 and 2 (−0.92 ) and highest between observers 1 and 3 (−2.0 ). The mean intraobserver standard deviation of the PTA measurement differences was 2.90 , and interobserver standard deviation of the PTA measurement differences was 2.26 . The degree of osteoarthritis did not influence PTA measurements or their variability. Conclusion: The current study did not find evidence of an influence of osteoarthritis on PTA or on the repeatability of measurements. Clinical significance: Our findings suggest that osteoarthritis should not affect the radiographic planning for tibial tuberosity advancement surgery. The high variances in PTA measurement in less experienced observers may influence the clinical outcome of surgery.