Determination of vertebral heart score in three species of Spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps, A. hybridus and A. paniscus)

TILETAMINE-ZOLAZEPAM-XYLAZINE ANESTHESIA IN EX SITU BLACK-HANDED SPIDER MONKEYS (ATELES GEOFFROYI SSP.)

Black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi ssp.) are endangered in Mexico. Safe anesthetic protocols are important for in situ and ex situ conservation problems. Such protocols are scarce in the literature; nor have safety and physiologic responses been reported. High doses and volume are a counter side for field immobilizations. We tested an anesthetic protocol with a combination of tiletamine-zolazepam (5 mg/kg) plus xylazine (1 mg/kg) in 14 black-handed spider monkeys under human care from two facilities in Mexico. Physiological parameters such as HR, RR, T, SPO2, systolic arterial pressure (), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), and median arterial pressure (MAP) were obtained. HR and RR decreased over time, but T increased significantly during the anesthetic time for the whole group; RR and T decreased for juveniles only. Variation between individuals was observed for HR, RR, and DAP. Volume reduction of drugs was achieved compared to previously reported anesthesia protocols. Induction time was fast (6.2 ± 10.4 min) and no tail prehension was seen. Recovery was prolonged (mean and SD). Physiologic parameters remained stable throughout. The protocol proved to be safe for the chemical immobilization of black-handed spider monkeys.

The effect of different body positions on the cardiothoracic ratios obtained by chest radiography in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) AND RHESUS MACAQUES (Macaca mulatta)

BACKGROUND

Although some studies have reported cardiac diseases in macaques, an adequate screening method for cardiac enlargement has not yet been established. This study aimed to evaluate the positioning of macaques for radiographs and establish reference intervals for the cardiothoracic ratio (CTR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We developed a device for chest radiography in the sitting position and performed chest radiography in 50 Japanese and 48 rhesus macaques to evaluate the CTR and chest cavity size.

RESULTS

In Japanese and rhesus macaques, the thorax height was significantly larger, the heart width was significantly smaller, and the mean CTR was significantly smaller in the sitting position than in the prone position. The reference intervals for CTR in the sitting position were 51.6 ± 4.6% and 52.2 ± 5.1% in Japanese and rhesus macaques, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Thoracic radiographic images obtained in a sitting position resulted in a smaller CTR and a larger thorax height, which could be useful for detecting pulmonary and cardiac abnormalities.

Vertebral Heart Score in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta): Generating Normal Reference Intervals and Assessing its Validity for Identifying Cardiac Disease

Vertebral heart scoring (VHS) is a semiquantitative method to assess the presence and severity of cardiomegaly by using thoracic radiographs. VHS in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) has not been validated or used routinely in the clinical or research setting. We hypothesized that rhesus macaques with cardiac disease diagnosed by using echocardiography would have higher VHS than animals without cardiac disease. A total of 150 rhesus macaques were enrolled in this study. All animals underwent echocardiography and thoracic radiography (right lateral [RL], dorsoventral [DV], and ventrodorsal [VD] views).According to echocardiography, 121 rhesus macaques had no cardiac disease and were used to establish reference intervals for VHS. The remaining 29 macaques had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (n = 20) or other cardiac disease (n = 9). Results showed that VHS of RL and VD views were significantly higher in macaques with any of the identified cardiac diseases and in the cardiac disease group that excluded hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. VHS of animals with HCM was not significantly different than that of control animals. In the RL view, VHS was moderately accurate for predicting the presence of cardiac disease, with an AUC of 0.71 and an optimal cut-off value of 10.25 (sensitivity: 62%, specificity: 77%). In the VD view, VHS was a mildly accurate test for cardiac disease, with an AUC of 0.654 and an optimal cut-off value of 10.65 (sensitivity, 66%;specificity, 63%). Study results indicated that VHS could be a useful screening tool for clinically identifying rhesus macaques with cardiac disease. However, VHS is unlikely to replace echocardiographic examination for determining the presence, type,and severity of cardiac disease in this species.