Figure 2.

Early treatment of suspected lung infection is key to rearing older CF ferrets. The weights of three CF and non-CF matched pairs (pairs reared on the same jill) were taken every 6 hours. (A) Total weight gain profiles of CF (blue bars) and non-CF (red bars) animals for each pair. (B) The rolling average of weight gain over a 6-hour period was calculated by averaging five measurements over a 24-hour period, and is plotted for three CF (blue bars) and non-CF (red bars) pairs. A decline in this rolling average was indicative of an early lung infection (yellow-shaded regions), and antibiotics were instituted at the positions marked by an arrowhead. Graph of the absolute 6-hour weight gain were not as informative as the 6-hour rolling average in predicting this decline, due to greater fluctuations in weights. Several other features of clinical management were useful from the rolling average 6-hour weight gains. For example, gut obstruction (†) could easily be seen as a very rapid spike in the value. When this was observed, animals were gavaged with Golytely or the percentage was increased in Elecare gavages. This was typically followed by a significant decline in the following average weight gain as the obstruction was passed in the feces. In addition, fluctuations in weight gain observed in both CF and non-CF animals (*) were typically associated with jill performance and lactation. (C) The ratio of the rolling average 6-hour weight gain between non-CF and CF animals most clearly shows the decline in weight of CF kits associated with lung infection by referencing this weight change with a non-CF littermate.