VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1 (January-February 2020)




Asystole and intraoperative resuscitation following a large abdominal mass removal in a wild boar (Sus scrofa)

Mario Arenillas, Eva Martínez-Nevado, Ignacio A. Gómez de Segura

Country - Spain

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An 11-year old, 100-kg female wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) was presented with an abnormal vulvar bleeding during the previous month. The patient was sedated at the referring zoo with medetomidine and tiletamine-zolazepam to perform transabdominal ultrasound, which revealed a mass in the enlarged uterus, and the sow was scheduled for ovariohysterectomy. After propofol anaesthetic induction, general anaesthesia was maintained with isoflurane vaporized in oxygen, and a constant rate infusion of fentanyl was administered to provide intraoperative analgesia. During uterus removal, the sow suffered severe bradycardia and subsequent cardiac arrest. Extraction of a large mass from the abdomen potentially resulted in high haemodynamic imbalance like distributive shock and haemorrhagic shock, and eventually asystole. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed. The Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) guidelines were followed. Anaesthesia was discontinued and the resuscitation procedure combined chest compressions and mechanical ventilation. In addition, both single doses of adrenaline and atropine were administered. Return to spontaneous circulation was accomplished and the surgical procedure could be completed. In conclusion, removal of a large, 7.2-kg, abdominal mass was associated with cardiopulmonary arrest where current recommendations for cardiopulmonary resuscitation were applied and demonstrated to be effective in a wild boar undergoing general anaesthesia.




The future of transhumant farming: An economic analysis of management characteristics of transhumant Greek farms

Anna Siasiou, Konstantinos Galanopoulos and Laga Vasiliki

Country - Greece

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Transhumance is a type of pastoralism, constituted by the seasonal migration of livestock between mountainous pastures and lower altitudes, common in all Mediterranean countries. The objective of this paper was the measurement of the efficiency of transhumant farms across the country as well as the identification of management practices or producer’s characteristics that effect their efficiency. The necessary data were collected from 551 transhumant farms via an appropriately structured questionnaire. Data Envelopment Analysis and subsequently regression analysis was performed to identify the impact of management and personal characteristics on the efficiency of the farms. Results revealed that the average technical efficiency of the transhumant farms was quite low, mainly attributed to a manifold degree of mismanagement of the available inputs. In addition, several managerial characteristics, such as the kind of the reared animals, the herd size, the distance that herds traverse and lactation, as well as personal characteristics of the producers, such as their educational level had a significant effect primarily on the technical and to a lesser extent on the scale efficiency.