Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgical site infections after 769 dog knee surgeries and risk factors
By Husi, Benjamin et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2023·Clinic for Small Animal Surgery·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Surgical site infection after 769 Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomies.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 627 dogs underwent a common knee surgery called Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), and some developed surgical site infections (SSI) afterward. About 8.5% of these surgeries resulted in infections, with German Shepherds being more prone to complications. The study found that previous knee surgeries and the type of implants used could influence the risk of infection. While some infections were caused by bacteria resistant to multiple medications, these were not linked to more severe infections. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of monitoring for infections after surgery and choosing the right surgical materials.
People also search for: dog knee surgery infection · TPLO surgery complications · German Shepherd surgery recovery
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To report surgical site infections (SSI) after Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), treatment course, associated risk factors, bacterial isolates and antimicrobial resistance. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective clinical cohort study. STUDY POPULATION: Six hundred and twenty seven dogs and 769 TPLO procedures. METHODS: Data from electronic medical records of dogs undergoing TPLO between 2005 and 2015 at a single institution have been retrospectively reviewed. A generalized mixed logistic regression was used to determine possible risk factors. The Chi-Square test of independence was used to examine the relationship between the isolation of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria and the development of major infections undergoing additional surgical treatment. To assess the correlation between number of SSI and number MDR isolate per year, Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated. RESULTS: The overall complication rate was 19.3% (= 149). SSI was most frequent with 8.5% (= 65). Major SSI occurred in 6.8% (= 52) TPLO (80.0% SSI).(.)(= 37) and.(= 10) were most frequently isolated. Multidrug-resistant bacteria were identified in 2.7% (= 21) TPLO (32.3% SSI) but were not associated with major SSI (= 0.426). There was a strong positive correlation between number of MDR isolates per year and number of SSI per year [= 0.79,= 0.004]. Factors associated with SSI were previous TPLO in the contralateral stifle (= 0.02, OR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.11-3.64) and German Shepherd dogs (= 0.035, OR = 4.41, 95% CI = 1.11-17.54). The use of non-locking implants was found to be protective (= 0.02, OR = 0.179, 95% CI = 0.18-0.77). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Infection with multidrug-resistant bacteria is an emerging problem in veterinary practice and treatment is challenging. The incidence of major SSI was found to be high but was not associated with the isolation of MDR bacteria.
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/37124568/