Agreement among three different equine venipuncture sites with regard to measurement of packed cell volume and total solids

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to determine the agreement between the packed cell volume (PCV) and total solids (TS) values in blood collected from the jugular vein (JV) in comparison with the cephalic vein (CV) and the transverse facial venous sinus (TFVS) in healthy adult horses. A total of 72 samples were taken from 24 horses. We found high agreement that reflects no clinically relevant differences between the PCV and TS values obtained from the CV or the TFVS in comparison with the JV in standing healthy adult horses.

In this issue – April 2015

“…The equine article in this issue compared PCV and TS values in samples collected from the jugular vein, cephalic vein or transverse facial venous sinus in standing healthy adult horses. 4 The study results suggest there are no clinically relevant differences between PCV and TS values in blood collected from these three sites. Nevertheless, the authors highlight that further studies are warranted to investigate if these findings apply to non-healthy, intensive-care horses.…”

“…Such directly measured losses of this magnitude cannot be attributed to alternative causes and were considered to 'seriously affect the viability of a sheep raising enterprise' , despite economically favourable conditions at the time. 4 Eventually, dingo predation of sheep rose to such unsustainable levels in both areas that the study was abandoned. Sheep were subsequently extirpated from the entire region by the 1990s.…”

“…Several key examples illustrate dingoes' role in the decline of the sheep industry, independent of economic factors. For example, in an intensive dingo-sheep interaction study conducted in the Fortescue River region of Western Australia in the late 1970s, 4 predation of sheep by dingoes was 16% in one area and 33% in another area despite 'the selective removal of particularly damaging dingoes' . Such directly measured losses of this magnitude cannot be attributed to alternative causes and were considered to 'seriously affect the viability of a sheep raising enterprise' , despite economically favourable conditions at the time.…”

Technique for venipuncture of the transverse facial vein in the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

“…While no evidence of complication arose in this case, maintenance of sound aseptic practices decreases the likelihood of phlebitis, thrombosis, or other complication related to repeated puncture. Further investigation into the clinical agreement between serum blood values obtained from this site compared to other venipuncture sites should be done, although previous studies in horses suggest that blood measures obtained from transverse facial vein samples did not significantly differ from other sampling sites in the same animal [Hunter et al, ; Dahan et al, ]. Further, comparison samples from the radial and auricular vein in the black rhinoceros displayed similar agreement, suggesting that blood parameters from the facial vein may concur with other sites as well [Miller, ].…”

Comparison of plasma l‐lactate between jugular and cephalic veins in healthy and systemically ill horses using a point‐of‐care device

“…5 Another study performed by Dahan et al assessed PCV and total solids between the JV, TFVS, and CV and found strong agreement among the sites in healthy horses. 6 The goal of the current study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a more remote venipuncture site (the CV) when sampling for plasma LAC or blood gas analysis in situations where there is a need to preserve the JV for subsequent catheterization, or when the JV is not readily accessible due to local trauma or recumbency. Both healthy and systemically ill horses were considered based on the findings in previous reports.…”