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BackgroundRapid, economical, and quantitative assays for measurement of camelid serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) are limited. In camelids, failure of transfer of maternal immunoglobulins has a reported prevalence of up to 20.5%. An accurate method for quantifying serum IgG concentrations is required.ObjectiveTo develop an infrared spectroscopy‐based assay for measurement of alpaca serum IgG and compare its performance to the reference standard radial immunodiffusion (RID) assay.AnimalsOne hundred and seventy‐five privately owned, healthy alpacas.MethodsEighty‐two serum samples were collected as convenience samples during routine herd visits whereas 93 samples were recruited from a separate study. Serum IgG concentrations were determined by RID assays and midinfrared spectra were collected for each sample. Fifty samples were set aside as the test set and the remaining 125 training samples were employed to build a calibration model using partial least squares (PLS) regression with Monte Carlo cross validation to determine the optimum number of PLS factors. The predictive performance of the calibration model was evaluated by the test set.ResultsCorrelation coefficients for the IR‐based assay were 0.93 and 0.87, respectively, for the entire data set and test set. Sensitivity in the diagnosis of failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) ([IgG] <1,000 mg/dL) was 71.4% and specificity was 100% for the IR‐based method (test set) as gauged relative to the RID reference method assay.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceThis study indicated that infrared spectroscopy, in combination with chemometrics, is an effective method for measurement of IgG in alpaca serum.

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of endoscopic selective vidian neurectomy in the treatment of severe persistent allergic rhinitis (AR) combined with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps (ARwCRSwNP). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> One hundred thirty patients with moderate to severe persistent ARwCRSwNP were enrolled at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, from September 2015 to September 2017. Patients were divided into 2 groups. Sixty-one patients (the control group) underwent conventional surgical treatment for CRS with nasal polyps and received conservative treatment for AR. Sixty-nine patients (the experimental group) received conventional surgical treatment for CRS with nasal polyps plus endoscopic selective vidian neurectomy with amputation of the posterior nasal nerve and pharyngeal branch of the vidian nerve. Clinical parameters, including visual analog scale (VAS) score, Lund-Kennedy endoscopic mucosal morphology score, and Lund-Mackay sinus computed tomography (CT) scan lesion range score, were used to analyze and evaluate the preoperative and postoperative data. Comparisons were based on patient scores, and preoperative and postoperative scores obtained at 6, 12, and 24 months were analyzed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The experimental group had higher therapeutic efficacy in nasal obstruction, nasal itching, rhinorrhea, sneezing, and general symptoms than the control group (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.05). No complications such as tear-secretion disorder or atrophic rhinitis occurred in the experimental group, and no significant difference in complications incidence was observed between the 2 groups (<i>p</i> &#x3e; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Endoscopic selective vidian neurectomy is an effective and safe technique for the management of moderate to severe persistent ARwCRSwNP.