Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bacteriuria frequency and survival in chronically paralyzed dogs
By Rafatpanah Baigi, S et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2017·Department of Surgery and Radiology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The Frequency and Clinical Implications of Bacteriuria in Chronically Paralyzed Dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 47 dogs that were paralyzed for over three months were tested for urinary tract infections (UTIs) and found that 35 had bacteria in their urine. Despite the high rate of bacteriuria, which is the presence of bacteria in urine, it did not seem to affect their survival rates, as only 8 of the dogs died during the study. Interestingly, having a fever was not common among these dogs, and the usual signs of infection were not always present. This suggests that while bacteriuria is frequent in paralyzed dogs, it may not be as serious as previously thought.
People also search for: dog urinary tract infection symptoms · paralyzed dog care · dog bacteria in urine treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Paralysis is a known risk factor for urinary tract infections (UTI), sepsis, and death in paralyzed people, but there are no data available on diagnostic criteria for UTI versus bacteriuria, their frequency, or clinical implications in chronically paralyzed dogs. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: That chronically paralyzed dogs suffer frequent bacteriuria causing reduced duration of survival. We documented the frequency of bacteriuria, associated clinical signs, and survival rate in chronically paralyzed dogs. ANIMALS: Forty-seven client-owned dogs paralyzed with no pelvic limb pain perception for >3 months and at least one urine culture (UC) performed. METHODS: Retrospective, observational study. Medical records of dogs meeting inclusion criteria were reviewed for results of UC, urinalysis, and clinical signs. Outcome was compared between dogs with and without bacteriuria. RESULTS: Thirty-five of 47 dogs had at least 1 positive UC, and 13 had recurrent bacteriuria. Rectal temperature and urinalysis results were extracted from records. Fever was present at time of UC in 5 of 68 observations, 2 with and 3 without bacteriuria. Pyuria was significantly associated with positive cultures (P < 0.001), cloudiness was not (P = 0.076). Survival data in 35 dogs (8 dead) showed no association between bacteriuria and survival (P = 0.69). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Bacteriuria is common in paralyzed dogs but does not cause fever; diagnostic criteria of UTI are unclear. We did not detect an association of bacteriuria with survival, but this needs further confirmation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29031032/