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Piglet Surgery |
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Much of the research on Carnitine is centered around piglet experiments that are conducted by the entire team. Piglet experiments provide us with the opportunity to practice surgical technique and give us real experience with patient care procedures. Our experiments simulate the care of a newborn and require as much care and attention as a human neonate. Our future goal with piglet experiments is to create a piglet model to study the effects of Ketogenic Therapy or the effects of HIV antiretroviral therapy, AZT, on metabolism in order to ascertain possible metabolic abnormalities associated with each treatment. This is a critical first step in studying the effects of these interventions in human patients because the piglet model closely resembles the physiology of the human neonates. |
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Our current experiments are nine days in length and involve the surgical insertion of catheters into a piglet followed by eight days of 24 hour piglet care, and ending with non-survival surgery. Members are involved in every step of the process and are directly responsible for the care of the piglet under the supervision of Dr. Borum. |
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| Survival Surgery |
Survival surgery is conducted by Dr. Borum with the assistance of four other team members. The piglet is anesthetized and incisions are made to insert three catheters. The blood, gastric, and bladder catheters are inserted in the piglet during surgery using stringent aseptic technique and anesthetics. |
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| Rounds |
Piglet Care entails 24 hour care and is conducted by the members between the hours of 5 am and 11 pm. The piglet is fed a formula that is prepared by members every 30 minutes via the gastric catheter. Urine is drawn every 30 minutes via the urine catheter and members are responsible for performing analysis of the urine every hour. Rounds take place every 12 hours during which the piglet is weighed, crown-to-rump and abdominal measurements taken, venous catheter flushed, respiration, heart rate, and temperature taken. |
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| Lab duties/Urinalysis |
Two team members in the lab analyze the urine collected from the piglet, prepare the formula to be used in the PNICU and bring supplies to the PNICU. |
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| Non-Survival Surgery |
| After the piglet is anesthetized, organ and blood samples are collected. First blood is collected in vials and immediately taken by Carnitine members preassigned to blood anaylsis. The collection of organs involves each organ being cleaned by a team member or team members, weighed and then placed into a vial for future analysis. Each organ is cleaned based upon a specific procedure that each member must learn and be skilled at prior to this surgery. |
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