Bolis B, Prandi A, Rota A, Faustini M, Veronesi M C
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy; ECAR Resident Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
Theriogenology. 2017 Jan 15;88:264-269. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2016.09.037. Epub 2016 Sep 29.
Along the perinatal period, in mammals, cortisol (C) plays a pivotal role in the final intrauterine fetal maturation and in the early neonatal adaptation. Because of the scarce knowledge about canine perinatology, the present study was aimed to assess the C concentrations in amniotic and allantoic fluids collected, without invasiveness, from small-sized, purebred newborn puppies born by elective cesarean section, at term of pregnancy. Possible correlations between fetal fluid C concentrations and maternal parity, litter size, birth weight, Apgar score, were evaluated. In addition, the possible effect of fetal fluid C concentrations on newborn survival at 24 hours of age, and the effect of the litter or the newborn gender on fetal fluid C concentrations were also assessed. The results, obtained from 50 born alive, normal-weight puppies, without gross physical malformation, showed that C concentration was higher in allantoic than in amniotic fluid (P < 0.01), even if a strong positive correlation between the two fluids C concentration was found (P < 0.0001; R = 0.83). Neither amniotic nor allantoic C concentrations were correlated to maternal parity, litter size, birth weight, and Apgar score. Interestingly, higher amniotic (P < 0.05), but not allantoic, C concentrations were found in puppies not surviving at 24 hours after birth. Therefore, it could be suggested that this parameter may be useful for the recognition, at birth, of puppies needing special surveillance during the first day of age. A significant (P < 0.001) effect of the litter in both amniotic and allantoic C concentrations was found. In conclusion, the present results showed that in small-sized purebred puppies, born at term by elective cesarean section, the exact fetal, maternal, or placental source contributing to fetal fluid C concentrations remains to be clarified. From a clinical perspective, however, the evaluation of amniotic C concentration at birth seems useful for the detection of puppies that need special surveillance during the first 24 hours of age, and should be coupled to the early newborn evaluation by Apgar score. However, the small total number of newborns, and especially of the dead puppies enrolled in the present study, suggests that further, more-focused investigations on a large number of subjects are needed before the method could be considered for application in the clinical practices.
在围产期，皮质醇（C）在哺乳动物的胎儿宫内最终成熟和新生儿早期适应过程中起着关键作用。由于对犬类围产医学的了解有限，本研究旨在评估通过择期剖宫产在妊娠足月时出生的小型纯种新生幼犬非侵入性采集的羊水和尿囊液中的C浓度。评估了胎儿液C浓度与母犬胎次、窝仔数、出生体重、阿氏评分之间的可能相关性。此外，还评估了胎儿液C浓度对出生24小时时新生幼犬存活的可能影响，以及窝仔或新生幼犬性别对胎儿液C浓度的影响。从50只存活、体重正常且无明显身体畸形的幼犬获得的结果表明，尿囊液中的C浓度高于羊水（P < 0.01），即使两种液体的C浓度之间存在强正相关（P < 0.0001；R = 0.83）。羊水和尿囊液中的C浓度均与母犬胎次、窝仔数、出生体重和阿氏评分无关。有趣的是，出生后24小时内未存活的幼犬羊水C浓度较高（P < 0.05），但尿囊液C浓度并非如此。因此，可以认为该参数可能有助于在出生时识别出生后第一天需要特别监测的幼犬。发现窝仔对羊水和尿囊液C浓度均有显著影响（P < 0.001）。总之，目前的结果表明，对于通过择期剖宫产在足月出生的小型纯种幼犬，导致胎儿液C浓度的确切胎儿、母体或胎盘来源仍有待阐明。然而，从临床角度来看，出生时羊水C浓度的评估似乎有助于检测出生后24小时内需要特别监测的幼犬，并且应与通过阿氏评分进行的新生儿早期评估相结合。然而，本研究中纳入的新生幼犬总数较少，尤其是死亡幼犬数量较少，这表明在该方法可被考虑应用于临床实践之前，需要对大量受试者进行进一步的、更有针对性的研究。
