Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Review of enterococci isolated from canine and feline urine specimens from 2006 to 2011.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association
- Year:
- 2015
- Authors:
- KuKanich, Kate S & Lubbers, Brian V
- Affiliation:
- From the Department of Clinical Sciences (K.K.) and Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (B.L.)
Plain-English summary
This study looked at urine samples from dogs and cats at a veterinary teaching hospital between 2006 and 2011 to see how often a type of bacteria called enterococci was present. The most common type found in dogs was Enterococcus faecalis, which was seen in about 77% of cases, while cats mostly had this same type. Most of the animals with enterococci in their urine had complicated urinary tract infections, with 83.9% of dogs and 81.8% of cats affected. Some of the urine samples showed signs of inflammation, and a significant number of the bacteria were resistant to multiple antibiotics. Overall, the findings suggest that enterococci are a common cause of urinary infections in both dogs and cats, and treatment may be complicated by antibiotic resistance.
Abstract
Canine and feline urine culture reports and medical records were reviewed at a veterinary teaching hospital from 2006 to 2011 for enterococcal growth, coinfections, antimicrobial resistance, urine sediment findings, clinical signs, and concurrent conditions. Of all of the urine specimens with significantly defined colony-forming units/mL, Enterococcus (E.) faecalis was the only enterococci isolated from cats and predominated (77.4%) in dogs followed by E. faecium (12.9%), E. durans (3.2%), and other Enterococcus spp. (6.5%). The majority of specimens with significant enterococcal growth resulted in complicated urinary tract infections in 83.9% of dogs and 81.8% of cats. Specimens with only enterococcal growth were more common than those mixed with other bacterial species. Cocci were observed in urine sediments of 8 out of 8 cats and 21 out of 25 dogs with available concurrent urinalyses. Pyuria was noted in 5 out of 8 feline and 15 out of 25 canine urine sediments, and pyuria in dogs was associated with growth of only enterococci on aerobic urine culture. Multidrug resistance was identified in 6 out of 11 cats and 7 out of 31 dogs, and E. faecium isolates from dogs were 4.5× more likely to be multidrug resistant than E. faecalis.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25955138/