Equine veterinary journal
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Equine veterinary journal · Jul 2011
Observer agreement study of cervical-vertebral ratios in horses.
Different examiners or the same examiner were observed at different times producing slightly different results when obtaining cervical-vertebral ratios. If the difference is substantial, then measurement variability would have an important impact of radiographic interpretation. ⋯ When using cervical-vertebral ratios in practice, the impact of measurement agreement should be factored into the interpretation of the test result because measurement variability may lead to misdiagnosis and limit the clinical usefulness of these tests.
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Equine veterinary journal · Jul 2011
Comparative StudyComparison between blood serum and salivary cortisol concentrations in horses using an adrenocorticotropic hormone challenge.
In horses, serum cortisol concentration is considered to provide an indirect measurement of stress. However, it includes both free and bound fractions. The sampling method is also invasive and often stressful. This is not the case for salivary cortisol, which is collected using a more welfare-friendly method and represents a part of the free cortisol fraction, which is the biologically active form. ⋯ The reliability of both RIAs and regression found between serum and salivary cortisol concentrations permits the validation of saliva-sampling as a noninvasive technique for cortisol level assessment in horses.
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Equine veterinary journal · Jul 2011
Cervical vertebral canal endoscopy in the horse: intra- and post operative observations.
Despite modern medical diagnostic imaging, it is not possible to identify reliably the exact location of spinal cord compression in horses with cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM). Vertebral canal endoscopy has been successfully used in man and a technique for cervical vertebral canal endoscopy (CVCE) has been described in equine cadavers. ⋯ Cervical vertebral canal endoscopy might allow accurate identification of the compression site in horses with CVSM and aid diagnosis of other lesions within the cervical vertebral canal.