Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Urine infections in hyperthyroid cats before radioiodine treatment
By Keebaugh, Audrey E et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2021·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of, and factors associated with, positive urine cultures in hyperthyroid cats presenting for radioiodine therapy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of hyperthyroid cats undergoing treatment were tested for urinary tract infections (UTIs) before receiving radioiodine therapy. Out of 197 cats, only 5.1% had positive urine cultures, and all of these cats showed no obvious symptoms of infection. The study found that microscopic bacteria in the urine were linked to positive cultures, but other factors like age and weight did not seem to affect the results. This suggests that while UTIs can occur in hyperthyroid cats, they may not always show signs of illness.
People also search for: hyperthyroid cat urinary tract infection · cat urine culture results · signs of UTI in cats
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are reported to be relatively common in hyperthyroid cats, with prevalence rates ranging from 12% to 22%. Factors that are associated with UTIs include age, decreasing body weight and active urine sediments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of positive urine cultures (PUCs) in hyperthyroid cats and associated risk factors for PUC. METHODS: In total, 197 hyperthyroid cats presenting for radioiodine therapy had urine cultures prospectively performed on cystocentesis samples. Data pertaining to clinical signs, drug history, age, weight, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, serum thyroxine and urinalysis were also evaluated. RESULTS: The prevalence of PUCs in this population of hyperthyroid cats was 5.1% and all cats were subclinical. Microscopic bacteriuria was significantly associated with a PUC (60%) compared with a negative urine culture (1.6%) status. Age, weight, urine specific gravity <1.020, urine pH, hematuria, pyuria, thyroxine concentration, breed and sex were not associated with PUC status. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The prevalence of PUCs in this population of cats was lower than previous reports of cats with hyperthyroidism. Cats with a PUC were subclinical at the time of culture, regardless of urine sediment abnormalities. Further studies are necessary to determine the clinical significance of subclinical bacteriuria in hyperthyroid cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32478636/