Dr Susan K. Armstrong

Dog owners increasingly link health to diet type, and the pet food market has diversified beyond kibble/canned diets (KC) to raw and fresh diets (FD; human-grade, gently/mildly cooked, and home-cooked). However, it remains unclear which owner-reported health-related signs (ORHS) are associated with dietary changes, including KC-FD transitions. Social media listening (SML) enables large-scale capture of naturally-occurring online owner discussions. Investigate owner perceptions of diet-related ORHS in dogs within online discourse using SML. None. Observational, retrospective study of 21 896 KC and 2336 FD online posts (>96% from Reddit) collected using Pulsar Platform™ (January 1, 2025 to July 3, 2025). After preprocessing and large language model (LLM)-based zero-shot filtering, 8040 KC and 924 FD posts were analyzed using LLM-assisted topic modeling and dictionary-based ORHS quantification. Topic modeling identified recurrent themes across KC (number of topics [k] = 7, coherence score [Cv] = 0.58) and FD (k = 6, Cv = 0.44) posts. Owners discussed diet as both the perceived cause and management strategy for gastrointestinal (GI), dermatologic, allergy/intolerance, appetite, and body condition ORHS, alongside decision uncertainties. Gastrointestinal (2286/8040, 28.4%; 282/924, 30.5%) and allergy/intolerance (1932/8040, 24.0%; 194/924, 21.0%) ORHS predominated within KC and FD posts, respectively; allergy/intolerance co-occurred with skin/coat (478/918, 52.1%; 57/114, 50.0%), and GI with allergy/intolerance (476/1,932, 24.6%; 68/194, 35.1%). Our study demonstrates the feasibility of SML-LLM-assisted analysis for capturing diet-related ORHS in online dog owner discourse. The study captured owner perceptions rather than clinically verified outcomes, highlighting the need for future studies to align ORHS with clinically validated endpoints to support veterinary nutrition discussions and informed owner decision-making.

Diffuse alveolar haemorrhage (DAH) is rare but associated with high morbidity and mortality. It is underpinned by mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, and vascular remodelling, yet its pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Progress in translational research is currently limited by the absence of robust animal models of this condition. Equine exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH), a common and progressive disorder in racehorses, may represent a novel and underutilised translational model for studying DAH, which can be a complication of or associated with other cardiopulmonary conditions, such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). EIPH occurs spontaneously in up to 95% of thoroughbreds after repeated strenuous exercise and is characterised by haemorrhage into the alveoli, capillary stress failure, inflammatory infiltration, and subsequent parenchymal remodelling. These processes closely parallel the vascular injury and immune activation observed in DAH. Horses further offer distinct advantages as models for human respiratory disease, including large lung size, long lifespan, and comparable pulmonary architecture. The regional distribution of haemorrhage in equine lungs additionally enables within-animal control studies. By leveraging the mechanistic overlaps between equine and human pulmonary pathology, EIPH provides a unique opportunity for biomarker discovery, mechanistic insight, and therapeutic testing in pulmonary vascular disease.

Point-of-care glucometry is used commonly in clinical and research settings; however, accuracy and precision of this method are concerns. The objectives of this study were to determine the accuracy of glucometry in adult horses and the precision of duplicate measurements. Blood samples were collected from 62 horses into one plain syringe, one EDTA tube and three fluoride oxalate (FO) tubes. Immediately after collection, glucose concentrations in whole blood were determined, in duplicate, by glucometry from the syringe (plain whole blood [WB] group), EDTA tube (EDTA group) and one FO tube (FO group). One FO sample was used to measure plasma glucose concentration by a laboratory chemistry analyser (LAB group) = 4.65 mmol/L for WB-LAB and

Background: Pancreatitis is an important cause of disease and death in dogs. Available circulating biomarkers are not sufficiently sensitive and specific for a definitive diagnosis. Hypothesis: Circulating microRNAs would be differentially expressed in dogs with chronic pancreatitis and could have potential as diagnostic biomarkers. Animals: Healthy controls (n = 19) and dogs with naturally occurring pancreatitis (n = 17). Methods: A retrospective case-control study. Dogs with pancreatitis were included if they satisfied diagnostic criteria for pancreatitis as adjudicated by 3 experts. MicroRNA was extracted from stored serum samples and sequenced. Reads were mapped to mature microRNA sequences in the canine, mouse, and human genomes. Differentially expressed microRNAs were identified and the potential mechanistic relevance explored using Qiagen Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Results: Reads mapping to 196 mature microRNA sequences were detected. Eight circulating microRNAs were significantly differentially expressed in dogs with pancreatitis (>= 2-fold change and false discovery rate

OBJECTIVES: To characterise the distribution of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus within the environment of a university small animal hospital and compare this with the distribution among staff. METHODS: Samples were collected from 140 environmental sites and the anterior nares of 64 staff members at the University of Glasgow Small Animal Hospital on a single day (d1). Sixty of the environmental sites were resampled 14 days later (d14). RESULTS: Meticillin-resistant S aureus was isolated from two of 140 (1.4 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 1.7 to 5.1) environmental sites on d1 and one of 60 (1.7 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 0.4 to 8.9) on d14. Two of the 64 staff sampled were positive for meticillin-resistant S aureus (3.1 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 0.4 to 8.4). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A lower prevalence of meticillin-resistant S aureus was observed in the environment than previously reported. The location, relatedness between isolates and the presence of Panton-Valentine leucocidin indicates that the source of the environmental meticillin-resistant S aureus was most likely to have been human rather than animal in these cases. This study presents important information regarding the potential source and distribution of meticillin-resistant S aureus within veterinary hospital environments and highlights potential variability of prevalence of meticillin-resistant S aureus within and between veterinary institutions.

This study was performed to estimate the prevalence of patent Parascaris equorum infections and determine the efficacy of ivermectin, pyrantel and fenbendazole against P. equorum infection in foals on farms in southern Australia. Foals aged >3 months on five farms in the south-western slopes region of New South Wales were used. Faeces were collected from each foal and foals with a P. equorum faecal egg count (FEC) of >100 eggs per gram (EPG) were used to measure anthelmintic efficacy using the FEC reduction (FECR) test, after random allocation to a control group or an ivermectin, pyrantel embonate or fenbendazole treatment group. Treatment was administered on day 0 and faeces were collected on day 14 and a FEC was performed. For determination of anthelmintic efficacy, FECRs and lower 95% confidence intervals (LCL) were calculated using previously described methods, based on individual or group FECRs. P. equorum populations were considered susceptible when FECR was >90% and LCL >90%, suspected resistant when FECR was FECR was 80-90% and LCL

This report documents the treatment of a case of chronic pleuropneumonia in a 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding. A recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tenecteplase) and a recombinant deoxyribonucleic acidase (alphadornase) were infused into the pleural cavity as adjunctive therapy in the early stages of treatment. Instillation of fibrinolytic drugs was associated with a subjective reduction in the amount of fibrin deposition and decreased fluid accumulation within the pleural cavities. Fibrinolytic therapy may be a useful adjunctive therapy in selected cases of intrapleural disease in horses.

Case series Three foals, aged between 5 and 10 days, were presented for assessment of lethargy, abdominal pain and joint effusion. Fibrinous pericarditis and pericardial effusion (PE) were recognised in each foal and considered as sequelae to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and suspected or confirmed septicaemia. Clinical course and outcome Diagnosis of pericarditis was made in two foals by echocardiographic examination and analysis of pericardial fluid, and during postmortem examination of the third foal. In both of the foals that underwent pericardiocentesis, PE was an exudate, no bacteria were identified on cytological analysis and bacterial culture was negative. Despite apparent response to treatment, two foals died 2 and 3 weeks, respectively, after discharge from hospital. One foal was euthanased during hospitalisation. Conclusion and clinical relevance This report highlights the need to consider the development of pericarditis and PE in foals with SIRS and signs of cardiorespiratory dysfunction, and the requirement for protracted follow-up to monitor for clinical resolution.