This study was designed to document the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in dogs with complicated babesiosis, and to assess their impact on outcome. Ninety-one cases were evaluated retro-spectively for SIRS and 56 for MODS. The liver, kidneys, lungs, central nervous system and musculature were assessed. Eighty-seven percent of cases were SIRS-positive. Fifty-two percent of the cases assessed for organ damage had single-organ damage and 48 % had MODS. Outcome was not significantly affected by either SIRS or MODS, but involvement of specific organs had a profound effect. Central nervous system involvement resulted in a 57 times greater chance of death and renal involvement in a 5-fold increased risk compared to all other complications. Lung involvement could not be statistically evaluated owing to co-linearity with other organs, but was associated with high mortality. Liver and muscle damage were common, but did not significantly affect outcome. There are manysimilarities between the observations in this study and previous human and animal studies in related fields, lending additional support to the body of evidence for shared underlying pathophysiological mechanisms in systemic inflammatory states

Systemic arterial blood pressures were measured in 30 dogs with acute babesiosis, 10 each with mild uncomplicated, severe uncomplicated and complicated disease. Ten healthy dogs were used as controls. Hypotension was defined as more than 3 standard deviations below the control mean. Normal mean pressures (±SD) were: systolic arterial pressure 151 (±11) mm Hg, diastolic arterial pressure 89 (±8) mm Hg and mean arterial pressure 107 (±10) mmHg. Hypotension was the most frequent abnormality, and increased strikingly in incidence as disease severity increased, with 5/10 dogs in the complicated group being hypotensive for systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures, compared with 2/10 in the severe uncomplicated group and 0/10 in the mild uncomplicated group. Systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures in the complicated group and severe uncomplicated group, and systolic pressure in the mild uncomplicated group, were significantly lower than in the controls. There were no significant relationships between arterial pressures and age, pulse rate, respiratory rate, temperature, mucous membrane colour or haematocrit. There was a significant negative correlation between arterial pressures and white cell and immature neutrophil counts. Arterial pressures differed significantly between dogs that were clinically collapsed and those that were not, but not between survivors and non-survivors. Pulse pressure (systolic - diastolic) was low in 7/10 complicated, 1/10 mild uncomplicated, and 1/10 severe uncomplicated cases, and differed significantly between the complicated and control groups. The high incidence of hypotension in clinically severe babesiosis has important implications for therapy

Osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease is a condition characterised by degeneration of articular cartilage often associated with the formation of new bone at joint surfaces or margins. Commonly encountered in dogs, osteoarthritis may have a gradual onset, but may also occur acutely. Osteoarthritis can be a primary disease of joint cartilage, but is more often secondary to abnormal stresses on joints. This article describes the pathogenesis and progression of cartilage degeneration as well as the dietary, lifestyle and pharmacological management of osteoarthritis. Recent pharmacological developments allow the clinician not only to control clinical signs of the disease, but also to slow the progression of cartilage degeneration

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