Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Defining and managing canine urinary infections
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Read
Terminology can be important when dealing with canine urinary problems, as it facilitates a clear understanding of the disease process and assists in decision-making for both diagnosis and treatment, as J. Scott Weese describes.
J. Scott Weese
DVM, DVSc, Dipl. ACVIM
J. Scott Weese is currently Professor at the Ontario Veterinary College and a Zoonotic Disease/Public health Microbiologist at the University of Guelph’s Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses. The author or co-author of over 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals, he has edited two textbooks and is frequently invited to speak on infectious disease topics. His research interests include microbiome assessment, antimicrobial resistance and infection control.
Key Points
- Urinary tract disease is a common and potentially problematic condition; how the condition is defined can help in the decision-making process for diagnosis and treatment.
- The urinary bladder was previously considered a sterile site but it is now thought that bacteria may cycle in and out of the bladder on a routine basis.
- Dogs with recurrent urinary tract disease can be difficult and frustrating to manage, and it is essential to determine why this is happening to achieve long-term clinical success.
- It is now generally recognized that subclinical bacteriuria in dogs does not usually need to be treated.
Introduction
Urinary tract disease is a common problem in dogs and a leading reason for antimicrobial use. In addition to patient welfare issues, infections can be problematic because of cost, owner frustration and the potential for complications (e.g., struvite urolithiasis). These problems are compounded in dogs with recurrent or poorly responsive infections.
Because of the importance of urinary tract disease in dogs, clinical guidelines have been produced by the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases (ISCAID), describing diagnosis, treatment and prevention recommendations ( 1 ). The size and scope of the guidelines demonstrate the potential complexity of urinary tract disease in dogs and offer valuable advice to clinicians.
What’s in a name?
Terminology can be important, as it facilitates clear understanding and communication of the disease process. This can play a role in decision-making regarding diagnosis or treatment. A variety of different classifications or descriptions can be used (Table 1).
Urinary tract infection vs. bacterial cystitis
“Urinary tract infection” or “UTI” is common nomenclature; however, this term is used variably in the veterinary literature, including situations where lower urinary tract disease is present ( 2 ) ( 3 ), as well as cases where there are no overt signs of disease but bacteria are detected by culture or cytological examination of the sediment ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ). This can cause confusion regarding the clinical relevance of results if cystitis is not differentiated from subclinical bacteriuria, as discussed below.
Because of the potential confusion revolving around “urinary tract infection”, the variability in how the term is used, and a need to focus on the disease process (e.g., cystitis), it has been recommended to use the term “bacterial cystitis” when referring to bacterial infection of the lower urinary tract that results in evidence of disease ( 1 ). [...]
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
About
How to reference this publication (Harvard system)?
Author(s)
Copyright Statement
© All text and images in this publication are copyright protected and cannot be reproduced or copied in any way.Related Content
Readers also viewed these publications
Subscribe
Access to the content of the Veterinary Focus website is reserved for animal health professionals. If you do not yet have a user account with Royal Canin you can create a free account by selecting the New User form. Subscription to the journal is free and issues in your preferred language can be obtained at the Veterinary Focus website.
Comments (0)
Ask the author
0 comments