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D L Baird

Publications and source records attributed to D L Baird.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Conservative management of 17 horses with nonarticular fractures of the tibial tuberosity.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Fractures of the tibial tuberosity (FTT) are caused by direct trauma, and are the second most commonly reported injury in event horses with stifle trauma. Conservative management of horses with FTT has been advocated, but results and prognosis for this method of therapy are unknown. OBJECTIVES: To report and review the findings of a retrospective study of 17 horses admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital from 1986-2001 with nonarticular FTT that received conservative management. METHODS: Subject details, aetiology of the accident, limb affected, degree of lameness at time of admission, size and degree of displacement of the fracture fragment, complications such as comminution of the fracture fragment or damage to soft tissue structures within the affected stifle, and treatment recommendations were obtained from medical records. Owners and trainers were contacted regarding the horse's return to athletic use. The follow-up period consisted of 11-154 months. RESULTS: Two horses were reportedly sound, but unable to return to competition for unrelated reasons. Of the horses that completed the rehabilitation period, 12/15 (80%) returned to athletic use at the same level as before the injury. Three horses were diagnosed with damage to soft tissue supporting structures of the affected stifle and could not return to their former level of competition. CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent soft tissue damage, diagnosed at the time of the initial injury, was statistically significant in precluding horses from returning to athletic careers. All other variables were found to have no effect upon outcome. POTENTIAL CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This retrospective study suggests that the conservative management of nonarticular FTT is a viable treatment modality in managing athletic equine patients presenting with these fractures.

Animals↗

Neurologic findings in coronary artery bypass patients: perioperative or preexisting?

OBJECTIVES/DESIGN: This prospective study compares the incidence of preexisting neurologic findings in elective cardiac surgery patients presenting with and without coronary atherosclerosis. SETTING: This single-center study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS/INTERVENTIONS: After Review Board approval and obtaining written informed consent, 11 patients undergoing valvular heart surgery, 9 patients undergoing similar valvular procedures with concomitant coronary artery bypass surgery, and 4 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery alone were enrolled. Preoperatively, all patients underwent a structured neurologic assessment, and the latter four additionally had preoperative magnetic resonance imaging. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The patients, 9 of 24 of whom were female, were aged 46 to 78 years and, other than ischemic heart disease, had medical histories that were similar between groups, with the exception of one patient having scleroderma. None of the patients had a clinical history of neurologic or cerebrovascular disease. Nine percent (1 of 11) of the valve-only patients showed subtle preoperative neurologic abnormalities, compared with 89% (eight of nine) of the valve patients having concomitant coronary surgery and 100% (four of four) of coronary artery bypass-only patients. Additionally, brain imaging scans of all four coronary bypass patients showed nonspecific changes reported as scattered punctate areas of high signal less than 3 to 4 mm in diameter. CONCLUSION: This survey shows that both subtle neurological abnormalities and magnetic resonance imaging lesions can be found in a high percentage of patients with coronary atherosclerosis. Furthermore, this study indicates that without a standardized preoperative neurological examination, postoperative neurologic dysfunction cannot necessarily be ascribed to perioperative events.

Aged↗

Cognitive dysfunction after ventricular fibrillation during implantable cardiovertor/defibrillator procedures is related to duration of the reperfusion interval.

The insertion of implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICD) requires induction of repeated episodes of ventricular fibrillation (VF). The neuropsychological repercussions associated with repeated inducement of hypotension and cerebral ischemia are unknown. In this prospective clinical trial, 1 day prior to ICD assessment/implantation and 5 days postprocedure, 14 patients underwent neurological and cognitive screening. Cognitive dysfunction was defined as impaired performance in one of four cognitive domains. Neurological impairment was defined as a decrement of 2 or more points from baseline of a total possible score of 45 points. Intraoperative hemodynamics, including the reperfusion interval (RI; end of preceding fibrillation to beginning of the next), were recorded. Patients underwent an average of 12 +/- 6 episodes of VF with average duration of mean arterial pressure (MAP) <50 mm Hg for 17 +/- 9 s (range 6-39 s) and of MAP <30 mm Hg for 11 +/- 5 s (range 2-22 s). Nine patients, in none of whom the predetermined criteria for neurologic impairment was met, demonstrated a new subtle neurologic finding postoperatively. Ten of 14 patients met the criterion for cognitive dysfunction 5 days postoperatively. The mean RI between episodes of VF was significantly different between those patients demonstrating cognitive dysfunction and the unimpaired patients (3.1 +/- 0.5 min in the group with cognitive dysfunction vs 3.9 +/- 0.8 min in the unimpaired group, P = 0.027). Five patients without cognitive impairment had longer RI between episodes of circulatory arrest than those showing impaired cognition. We conclude that cognitive dysfunction can occur after insertion of ICD and is related to the duration of RI.

Adult↗