Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Positive bacterial cultures during dog knee surgery and infection risk
By Korytárová, Natália et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2024·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Germany·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Clinical relevance of positive intraoperative bacterial culture in tibial plateau leveling osteotomy in dogs: a retrospective study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs undergoing surgery for a torn knee ligament (TPLO) had their surgical site checked for bacteria during the procedure. Out of 98 dogs, 10 developed infections after surgery, but all of them had negative bacterial cultures taken during the operation. Interestingly, the dogs that had positive cultures did not develop any infections. This suggests that testing for bacteria during the surgery may not be a reliable way to predict if a dog will get an infection afterward.
People also search for: dog knee surgery infection · TPLO surgery complications · dog surgery bacterial culture results
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) belongs to the most frequently used surgical method for the treatment of cranial cruciate ligament rupture in dogs. Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the possible postoperative complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of intraoperative bacterial culture as a tool for the detection of intraoperative bacterial contamination progressing to infection development in canine TPLO. Electronic patient records from dogs who underwent TPLO between January 2018 to December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Intraoperative bacterial culture results, used antimicrobial drugs and presence of SSI were recorded. RESULTS: Ninety-eight dogs were included in the study. SSI rate was 10.2%. All dogs who developed SSI (n = 10) had negative intraoperative bacterial cultures. None of the dogs with positive intraoperative bacterial culture (n = 6) developed SSI. The most cultured bacteria causing SSI was Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (n = 4). CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative bacterial culture in dogs undergoing TPLO is not suitable as a predictor of surgical site infection.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38704532/