Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vegetative Endocarditis due toin an Umbrella Cockatoo ().
- Journal:
- Journal of avian medicine and surgery
- Year:
- 2019
- Authors:
- Steinagel, Amanda et al.
- Affiliation:
- Animal Medical Center · United States
- Species:
- bird
Plain-English summary
A 15-year-old female umbrella cockatoo had been dealing with a problem where her cloaca (the opening for waste) would occasionally bulge out for about a year. The owner would help put the tissue back in place, but after a few visits to the vet and some treatments, the bird still had issues. Just before a planned surgery to fix the problem, the cockatoo suddenly became very weak, stopped eating, was extremely tired, and had trouble using her right leg. Despite attempts to help her, her condition worsened, and she sadly passed away. A postmortem exam showed she had a serious heart infection and other complications, likely caused by bacteria that entered her body from the owner's hands during the treatments.
Abstract
A 15-year-old, female cockatoo () was presented with a history of intermittent cloacal prolapse of 1-year duration. After each prolapse, the owner would digitally reduce the distended cloacal tissue within approximately 12-24 hours, for short-term resolution. The cockatoo was examined 3 times over a 7-month period and received supportive care with leuprolide acetate, behavioral modification, and diet change. After the third examination, the owner decided to proceed with a surgical cloacopexy. Five days after the last examination and before the procedure was scheduled, the cockatoo was reexamined for acute onset of weakness, anorexia, lethargy, and right-leg paresis. Despite supportive treatment, the cockatoo's clinical condition declined, and it went into respiratory arrest. Resuscitative efforts, including manual ventilation and cardiovascular support, were unsuccessful, and the bird died. Results of postmortem examination revealed vegetative endocarditis with intralesional bacteria cultured as, right-hindlimb myonecrosis, hepatitis, and nephritis. We suspect that the source of the hematogenousinfection in this cockatoo was translocation from the owner's skin from the repeated manual manipulation and replacement of the prolapsed cloacal tissue.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31833311/