Preoperative anemia linked to complications in cats having ureter

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the link between preoperative anemia and perioperative complications in cats undergoing general anesthesia for subcutaneous ureteral bypass (SUB) and examine whether preoperative anemia is associated with poor outcome. METHODS: This retrospective study used data records of cats presenting to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals requiring SUB system implantation. Anemia was defined as a PCV < 25%. Signalment, blood samples, perioperative data, and short-term outcomes were compared between anemic and nonanemic groups. RESULTS: 196 cats were included; 28.6% (n = 56) presented anemic. Anemic patients were more likely to be hypotensive perioperatively compared with nonanemic patients. Nonanemic cases were significantly more likely to demonstrate a greater reduction in creatinine following SUB placement (median, 73.0% reduction vs anemic cases, 56.6%; OR, 0.4146; 95% CI, 0.1835% to 0.8929%). Patients presenting with anemia were significantly older than patients presenting without anemia (95% CI, -2.411% to -0.2965%). There was no significant difference in survival to discharge (OR, 0.7106; 95% CI, 0.2421% to 2.033%) or 30-day survival between anemic and nonanemic groups (OR, 0.5798; 95% CI, 0.2446% to 1.396%). CONCLUSIONS: Anemic cats presenting with ureteric obstruction are at an increased risk of perioperative hypotension and less likely to have a reduction in creatinine at discharge. There was no difference in survival between groups. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Anemia occurs commonly in cats with ureteric obstructions and is a preoperative factor shown to require careful management during the peri- and postoperative periods, increasing complications and reducing the normalization of creatinine.