Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vancomycin for multi-drug resistant Enterococcus faecium cholangiohepatitis in a cat.
- Journal:
- Journal of feline medicine and surgery
- Year:
- 2005
- Authors:
- Pressel, Michelle A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences · United States
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat was taken to the vet because he had a long history of diarrhea, mostly affecting his small intestine, and had been passing blood in his stool for three days. When examined, the cat had high liver enzyme levels and signs of inflammation in his blood. Further tests showed he had inflammatory bowel disease, cholangiohepatitis (inflammation of the liver and bile ducts), and pancreatitis, all linked to a tough-to-treat bacteria called Enterococcus faecium. The cat was treated with vancomycin, an antibiotic, for 10 days, which helped improve his symptoms, but it did not completely eliminate the bacterial infection.
Abstract
A 12-year-old, neutered male domestic shorthair cat was evaluated with a life-long history of intermittent, predominantly small bowel diarrhea and a 3 day history of hematochezia. At presentation, the cat had increased liver enzyme activities and an inflammatory leukogram. Histopathology demonstrated inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), cholangiohepatitis and pancreatitis. The cholangiohepatitis was associated with a multi-drug resistant Enterococcus faecium. Gallbladder agenesis was also documented. Treatment with vancomycin was safely instituted for 10 days. Clinical signs resolved, however, cure of the bacterial cholangiohepatitis was not achieved. The risk of vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) in human and veterinary medicine is discussed.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16182186/