Urogenital health: Don’t miss this special JAVMA supplemental issue

The latest supplemental issue from JAVMA delivers clinically important research findings on urinary and reproductive health to help veterinary clinicians recommend solutions that will provide the best possible outcomes for patients.  

Urogenital Health in Your Patients is already available online. JAVMA subscribers can watch your mailbox for the print version, which will arrive with the regular June issue. 

This special supplement is packed with novel and practical learnings on a variety of conditions in a wide range of species, including: 

• Urethral obstruction in cats
• Pyometra in dogs and cats
• Urolithiasis in guinea pigs, miniature pigs, and small ruminants
• Uterine prolapse in horses
• Brucella suis in swine

The research findings also address an important question: Do antimicrobial use guidelines for treating dogs and cats with suspected urinary tract infections actually make a difference in first-line prescribing practices?

What can you expect to find?

True to its reputation for providing trusted and authoritative information, JAVMA has tapped two expert guest editors to curate these research findings: 

• Dr. Barrak M. Pressler, PhD, DACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine), who also is an associate editor for the AVMA journals 
• Dr. Sophie A. Grundy, BVSc (Hons), MANZCVS (Small Animal Medicine), DACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine)

In his introductory editorial, Dr. Pressler drives home the clinical usefulness of the articles in the supplement. “Every day we must answer the same question, in every patient: what do I do? The answer is often uncertain. However, the reports we bring you attempt to add some clarity. What works and what does not?”

The first of the 14 articles is but one example of the groundbreaking research readers will find. The article challenges the common belief that the use of prazosin is effective to prevent recurrent urethral obstruction in male cats. This study found that prazosin actually can increase the rate of reobstruction.  

Other articles help answer the types of questions clinicians routinely deal with when considering treatment or diagnostic options:

• What is the prognosis for dogs and cats surgically treated for pyometra? What if surgery is delayed?
• Are we limited to surgical correction or endoscopic laser ablation for dogs with ectopic ureters?
• What is the prognosis for guinea pigs with urolithiasis? What if they need surgery?
• What can we do to best help pet pigs or small ruminants with suspected obstructive urolithiasis?
• Are ovarian pedicle ties a safe alternative to the slower suture-ligation technique in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy?
• Is there a particular blood test that can help identify chelonians with reproductive disorders?

Read the supplement

Want to know about the cover art? 

As with JAVMA’s inaugural supplemental issue, Surgery in Your Practice, the cover art for this supplement was created with the subject matter in mind. This educational image was designed to help visualize the technique described in the report “Cystoscopic-guided scissor transection of intramural ectopic ureters as a novel alternate minimally invasive treatment option to laser ablation in female dogs: 8 cases (2011–2020)” by Jacobson et al. 

The artist, Madison Christian, is a graduate assistant medical illustrator working toward a certificate of comparative medical illustration at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. 

Like all other JAVMA covers, the image can be found in the journal’s cover art gallery.

Look for more special supplemental issues

“Urogenital Health in Your Patients” is JAVMA’s second special supplement, and more are in the works. The JAVMA team plans to bring supplemental issues to readers twice a year, enhancing the value of the journal subscription and AVMA membership. Upcoming supplements will feature nutrition (December 2022) and dermatology (June 2023). 

Interested in contributing to the dermatology issue? Have ideas for future supplemental issues? javmaavma [dot] org (Email the journal’s editors); they want to hear from you.

AVMA journals: What’s coming next? 

Both of AVMA’s scientific journals, JAVMA and AJVR, are innovating to meet the current and future needs of readers and veterinary medicine. Among the changes, the editors are making it easier for everyone in the profession to stay on top of the eye-opening research they publish. 

How? For one thing, readers can sign up to receive email alerts when new articles and issues are published by either JAVMA or AJVR. The journals also have set up new social media feeds, so you can get the latest science delivered to you on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.