Background: Little is known about the efficacy of commonly used acid suppressants on intragastric pH in dogs. Objective: To compare the effect of oral famotidine, 2 formulations of omeprazole, and placebo on intragastric pH in dogs with a catheter-free, continuous pH monitoring system. Animals: Six healthy adult mixed-breed colony dogs. Methods: Utilizing a randomized, 4-way cross over, open-label study, dogs were administered famotidine PO (1.0-1.3 mg/ kg q12h), omeprazole tablet (1.5-2.6 mg/kg q24h), omeprazole reformulated paste (RP) (Gastrogard, 1.5-2.6 mg/kg q24h), and placebo for 7 days followed by a 10-day washout period. Radiotelemetric pH capsules were placed with gastroscopy assistance to continuously record intragastric pH for 4 days (days 4-7 of dosing). The percentage of time that intragastric pH was !3 and !4 was compared among treatment groups using repeated measures of analysis of variance. Tukey's Studentized range test was used to determine which groups were different with a 5 0.05.Results: Mean AE SD percent time intragastric pH was !3 and !4 was 22 AE 8% and 14 AE 6% for famotidine, 63 AE 14% and 52 AE 17% for omeprazole tablet, 54 AE 17% and 44 AE 18% for omeprazole RP, and 6 AE 6% and 5 AE 5% for placebo. Both omeprazole formulations significantly increased intragastric pH compared with famotidine and placebo, but omeprazole tablet and RP was not significantly different from each other.Conclusion: Oral omeprazole tablet and RP provide superior gastric acid suppression to famotidine, and should therefore be considered more effective for the treatment of acid related disorders in dogs.

Results suggested that esophageal bougienage was a safe and effective treatment for most dogs and cats with BES, with outcomes similar to those reported for balloon dilation.

ABSTRACT:Waterfowl are natural reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens, and abundant resident (nonmigratory) Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) in urban and suburban environments pose the potential for transmission of Campylobacter through human contact with fecal deposits and contaminated water. In June 2008 and July 2009, we collected 318 fecal samples from resident Canada Geese at 21 locations in and around Greensboro, North Carolina, to test for Campylobacter. All campylobacter species detected were C. jejuni isolates, and prevalences in 2008 and 2009 were 5.0% and 16.0%, respectively. Prevalence of C. jejuni-positive sampling sites was 21% (3/14) and 40% (6/15) in 2008 and 2009, respectively. All C. jejuni isolates were susceptible to a panel of six antimicrobial agents (tetracycline, streptomycin, erythromycin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, and ciprofloxacin). We used pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and flatyping to identify several strain types among these isolates. Multilocus sequence typing of representative isolates revealed six sequence types, of which two (ST-3708 and ST-4368) were new, two (ST-702 and ST-4080) had been detected previously among C. jejuni from geese, and two (ST-991 and ST-4071) were first reported in C. jejuni from an environmental water source and a human illness, respectively. These results indicate a diverse population of antibiotic-susceptible C. jejuni in resident Canada Geese in and around Greensboro, North Carolina, and suggest a need for additional assessment of the public health risk associated with resident Canada Geese in urban and suburban areas.

Threaded pins have superior bone holding strength in avian cortices and may be beneficial for use with external fixation devices in birds.

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