Body Condition Score Is Not Correlated to Gastric Ulcers in Non-Athlete Horses

Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is a worldwide disease of the stomach that can be found in different categories of horses. Different clinical signs may be present, but a large number of horses are asymptomatic. The aim of this study was to identify a possible correlation between body condition score (BCS) and EGUS in a population of horses. A total of 203 non-athlete horses were submitted for gastroscopies, and the presence and severity of lesions of the glandular and squamous mucosa were recorded. A board-certified veterinarian blinded to the gastroscopy results assessed the BCS of the horse. In the study population, no correlation was found between BCS and the presence of gastric lesions in either the glandular or the squamous mucosa. The disease of the squamous or glandular mucosa cannot be excluded based only on the presence of normal or increased BCS in non-athlete horses

Evaluation of a questionnaire to detect the risk of developing ESGD or EGGD in horses

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) affects various categories of horses worldwide. This syndrome is now divided into two different diseases, based on the presence of lesions on either the squamous (Equine Squamous Gastric Disease, ESGD) or the glandular (Equine Glandular Gastric Disease, EGGD) mucosa. Diagnosis is based on the evaluation of the presence of gastric lesions with gastroscopic examination. As a gastroscopy can be considered expensive by clients, therapy is started often on the basis of clinical signs only. The aim of this study was to validate a questionnaire to detect the risk of developing ESGD or EGGD. The owners of 418 horses that were submitted to gastroscopic evaluation were asked to answer a questionnaire on risk factors for ESGD and EGGD. Horses were divided into three groups based on the results of the questionnaire and their risk of developing gastric lesions. In our population the survey was not useful to detect the presence and the severity of the lesions detected during gastroscopic examination, however answers to some of the questions did correlate with the development of gastric lesions. The questionnaire could therefore be a useful tool to evaluate the risk of ESGD or EGGD. Having owners periodically complete the survey could also make them more aware of changes in the conditions of the horses that could lead to gastric lesions. This could then help them seek advice from veterinarians on how to manage this potential ris

A comparison of the efficacy of two omeprazole formulations in the treatment of equine gastric ulcer syndrome in racehorses: a blinded, randomized clinical trial

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is the most common disease of the stomach in horses and treat-ment is based on the oral administration of omeprazole for at least 28 days. aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of two formulations of oral omeprazole-powder paste and gastro-enteric resistant granules-in the treatment of naturally occurring gastric ulcers in racehorses. thirty-two adult racehorses, aged between 2 and 10 years old, with clinical signs of EGUS were included in this blinded, randomized clinical trial. two gastroscopies were performed to evaluate gastric lesions in the squamous or glandular mucosa before and after 28 days of treatment. after the first gastroscopy, 2/32 horses were excluded be-cause affected by equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) 1/4. the remaining horses were divided into 4 groups, and were treated with 2 formulations of omeprazole (gastroenteric resistant granules, group 1, or powder paste, group 3) or with 2 placebo formulations (granules, group 2, or paste, group 4). treat-ments were performed in the placebo horses affected by ESGD or equine glandular gastric disease after the T28 gastroscopy control. no differences were found between groups at T0. Differences were found between T0 vs. T28 for granular ( P = .002) and powder paste ( P = .01) formulations. no differences were detected between the two groups receiving omeprazole formulations at T28 (0.34) and between T0 vs. T28 for either of the groups receiving placebo treatments. for all the variables, the size of the effect was greater than 0.5, proving that the treatments had a considerable effect. gastro-enteric resistant granules and powder paste omeprazole showed similar efficacy in the treatment of ESGD. the glandular mucosa responded poorly to treatment with omeprazol

SARS-CoV-2 Early Screening at the Point of Entry: Travelers From Bangladesh to Italy–July 2020

We report phylogenetic and mutational analysis by NGS of six SARS-CoV-2 strains from patients flying from Bangladesh to Italy (July 2020). Data suggest that no further circulation of such imported strains occurred in Italy, stating the efficacy of early screening at the point of entry and supporting the importance of molecular epidemiology in monitoring the efficacy of control measures

Su un caso di carcinoma a cellule squamose dello stomaco nel cavallo

SUMMARY - The Authors describe thè clinical, pathological and histotogical features of a case of squamous celi carcinoma (SCC) in a borse. A 13 year old, male, castrated, Irish horse, was kepi under observation after being sick for 9 months with thè following symptoms: dysoressia, chronic weight loss, sensory depression, pallor of thè apparent mucosae and, in thè last 30 days, diarrhoea, raeìena and diffuse oedemas. Physical and endoscopie examination and laboratory test» suggested a cachectic syndrome secondary to a neoplastic disease involving thè alimentary traci. Due to thè unfavourable prognosis, thè horse was euthanised according to thè owner's will, Anatomo-histopathological examination showed thè presence of stomach SCC. In this note thè Authors emphasize thè difficuity in diagnosing such neoplastic disease intra vitam

Incidence and predictors of clinical failure after early treatment for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in high-risk individuals: A multicentric cohort study

Objectives: To estimate the risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death (CovH/D), among high-risk individuals early treated for COVID-19 and to identify associated factors. Methods and results: A multicenter cohort of 12,475 high-risk outpatients (female 50.2%, median age 70 years [IQR 57–80], fully vaccinated 79.1%, immunocompromised 23.2%) treated with monoclonal antibodies or antivirals for mild-to-moderate COVID-19 (March 2021–May 2023) in the Lazio region, Italy. The unadjusted risk of CovH/D by Day 30 was 3.08% (95% CI 2.7%–3.4%). By means of logistic regression models, which included a specific set of potential confounders for each exposure of interest, we observed a higher risk for the elderly, unvaccinated and immunocompromised participants. Using the “Delta period” as a reference, a decreased risk was observed for Omicron waves. Conclusions: Despite the administration of COVID-19 early treatment and the decreasing risk of CovH/D across the calendar periods, the elderly, the unvaccinated and the immunocompromised people remain at high risk of clinical progression

Antiviral and Monoclonal Antibody Combination Therapy in Haematological Patients in the Omicron Era

Immunocompromised (IC) patients are at higher risk for persistent and/or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection caused by different viral variants, with a high case-fatality ratio.1,2 The first persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection (5 months) was reported in 2020 in an IC patient with a long persistence of SARS-CoV-2,3 immediately followed by further reports.2,4 Indeed, the impairment of the immune system changes the natural history of COVID-19. However, no consensus exists on clinical management of IC COVID-19 patients.5 Several reports emphasize the clinical relevance of a combination therapy between small-molecule antivirals (AV) and anti-spike monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) both in early and prolonged COVID-19 clinical management.6,7 In 2022, tixagevimab/cilgavimab (T/C) MoAb fixed combination was introduced as early therapy for outpatient with COVID-19.8 We describe here a single-center case series of 22 IC COVID-19 in patients with hematological disorders (HD) treated with a combined therapy based on tixagevimab/cilgavimab (T/C) plus small-molecule antivirals (AV), between April 1, 2022, and November 30, 2022

Molnupiravir increases SARS-CoV-2 genome diversity and complexity: A case-control cohort study

Molnupiravir, an oral direct-acting antiviral effective in vitro against SARS-CoV-2, has been largely employed during the COVID-19 pandemic, since December 2021. After marketing and widespread usage, a progressive increase in SARS-CoV-2 lineages characterized by a higher transition/transversion ratio, a characteristic signature of molnupiravir action, appeared in the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) and International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) databases. Here, we assessed the drug effects by SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequencing on 38 molnupiravir-treated persistently positive COVID-19 outpatients tested before and after treatment. Seventeen tixagevimab/cilgavimab-treated outpatients served as controls. Mutational analyses confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 exhibits an increased transition/transversion ratio seven days after initiation of molnupiravir. Moreover we observed an increased G->A ratio compared to controls, which was not related to apolipoprotein B mRNAediting enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC) activity. In addition, we demonstrated for the first time an increased diversity and complexity of the viral quasispecies