This study examined the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and classification accuracy of 3 commonly used screening tests for failure of passive transfer: the sodium sulfite turbidity test, the zinc sulfate turbidity test, and refractometry relative t o serum immunoglobulin G1 (IgG,) concentrations determined by radial immunodiffusion. Serum samples were obtained from 242 calves ranging from 1 t o 8 days of age. Using a serum concentration of 1,000 mg/dL IgG, t o define adequate passive transfer, the zinc sulfate test had a sensitivity of 1.00 and a specificity of 0.52 in the detection of inadequate passive transfer. The endpoint of the test appeared t o be higher than desired; calves testing negative had mean serum lgG, concentration of 955 mg/ dL and a large proportion of calves with adequate passive transfer were misclassified as positive for failure of passive transfer. Using the qualitative zinc sulfate test, the percentage of calves correctly classified with regard t o passive transfer status was less than that observed with either the sodium sulfite test or refractornetry. The sensitivity of the sodium sulfite assay was 0.85 at a 1 + endpoint and 1.00 at alves are born without appreciable serum concentra-C tions of immunoglobulin (Ig). Ig requirements are satisfied by ingesting and absorbing colostral 1gs.l.' Adequate passive transfer of Igs is a critical determinant of calf health and s~r v i v a l .~~' Several assays have been used to measure serum Ig concentrations in neonatal livestock. These include refractometer determination of total serum protein concentration, zinc sulfate and sodium sulfite turbidimetry, immunoassays, and the glutaraldehyde clot test.'.*-'' Assay procedures should be adapted to a practice setting. Immediacy of results permits practitioners to provide feedback to calfrearing personnel and make clinical decisions regarding the necessity of targeted intervention in individual calves with failure of passive transfer (FPT).Immunoassay procedures detecting bovine IgG have not been successfully adapted to a practice setting. Additionally, the time constraints of sample collection, sample submission, and assays procedures often relegate the results of immunoassays to historical interest. Labor and expense also have limited the widespread on-farm application of immunoassay procedures. The recently developed and marketed whole blood glutaraldehyde coagulation test attempted to address these timing and economic constraints; however, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay proved inadequate for routine diagnostic use." The primary goal of this study was to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of 3 commonly used screening tests for the detection of FPT in calves. These test procedures included refractometry, the qualitative zinc sulfate turbidity test, and the semiquantitative sodium sulfite turbidity test. All 3 assays are readily adapted to a farm or practice setting. Assay results were compared with serum IgG I concentrations determined by radial immu...

Clinical outcomes and complications of a technique used for atlantoaxial stabilization were evaluated in a group of 12 dogs. At surgery, the atlantoaxial joint was realigned and rigidly fixated using cortical bone screws, K-wire, and polymethyl methacrylate. Results in nine dogs were graded as excellent. Results in two dogs were judged as good. One dog was euthanized 17 months after surgery for recurrent cervical pain. Eight dogs had no postoperative complications. The surgical technique described provided an adaptable method for the correction of atlantoaxial instability.

Intervertebral disk extrusions into the spinal cord are rarely reported in veterinary medicine, and only necropsy findings are described in previous reports. It is hypothesized that a disk lesion results in forceful injection of disk material into the spinal cord. In the 3-year-old Miniature Doberman Pinscher of our report, acute clinical signs and results of magnetic resonance imaging were consistent with this disease and helped determine the extent and character of the lesions. Alteration in the appearance of the nucleus pulposus was important in determining that intervertebral disk disease may have been present in this dog. However, a definitive diagnosis of intramedullary disk extrusion can be made only via histologic examination of a biopsy specimen or at necropsy. The dog improved substantially after surgical decompression of the spinal cord, and histologic findings in a biopsy specimen of material found within the spinal cord were consistent with mature degenerate intervertebral disk material.

A 9-year-old spayed female Golden Retriever was examined because of progressive hind limb lameness. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic and lumbar portions of the vertebral column revealed a focal, contrast-enhancing, intramedullary spinal cord mass. The history, signalment, and magnetic resonance findings were suggestive of spinal cord neoplasia. A hemilaminectomy, durotomy, and longitudinal myelotomy were performed, and a 1 X 1-cm mass that contained numerous blood vessels was removed with blunt dissection. Results of histologic examination and immunohistochemical staining of the mass suggested that it was a hamartoma. The dog improved after surgery, with no evidence of a recurrence of clinical signs 14 months after surgery. Vascular malformations of the CNS in dogs include hamartomas, hemangiomas, angiomas, hemangioblastomas, meningocerebral hemangiomatosis, and arteriovenous malformations. A hamartoma is a non-neoplastic overgrowth of cells or an improper proportion of cells that are normally in the involved tissue. Although magnetic resonance imaging may be helpful in determining the extent of the lesion in dogs with vascular malforrmations, it cannot be used to distinguish neoplastic from non-neoplastic formations. Excision may result in a good outcome for dogs with an intramedullary spinal cord hamartoma.

BackgroundPoor agreement between observers on whether an unusual event is a seizure drives the need for a specific diagnostic tool provided by video‐electroencephalography (video‐EEG) in human pediatric epileptology.ObjectiveThat successful classification of events would be positively associated with increasing EEG recording length and higher event frequency reported before video‐EEG evaluation; that a novel wireless video‐EEG technique would clarify whether unusual behavioral events were seizures in unsedated dogs.AnimalsEighty‐one client‐owned dogs of various breeds undergoing investigation of unusual behavioral events at 4 institutions.MethodsRetrospective case series: evaluation of wireless video‐EEG recordings in unsedated dogs performed at 4 institutions.ResultsElectroencephalography achieved/excluded diagnosis of epilepsy in 58 dogs (72%); 25 dogs confirmed with epileptic seizures based on ictal/interictal epileptiform discharges, and 33 dogs with no EEG abnormalities associated with their target events. As reported frequency of the target events decreased (annually, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, minutes, seconds), EEG was less likely to achieve diagnosis (P < 0.001). Every increase in event frequency increased the odds of achieving diagnosis by 2.315 (95% confidence interval: 1.36–4.34). EEG recording length (mean = 3.69 hours, range: 0.17–22.5) was not associated (P = 0.2) with the likelihood of achieving a diagnosis.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceWireless video‐EEG in unsedated dogs had a high success for diagnosis of unusual behavioral events. This technique offered a reliable clinical tool to investigate the epileptic origin of behavioral events in dogs.