A 4-year-old spayed female French bulldog was presented to the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for evaluation of lethargy and hyporexia of 24 hours duration. Approximately 8 months prior to presentation, the dog was evaluated by a veterinarian for possible seizure activity. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebrospinal fluid analysis were performed and were unremarkable. The dog was treated with prednisone (1 mg/kg daily) and phenobarbital (6 mg/kg twice daily), which controlled the clinical signs. The owner also started the patient on a colloidal silver supplement for the past month as treatment for a urinary tract infection.On initial physical examination, the dog was tachycardic (heart rate 160 bpm) and the mucous membranes were white. Mild hepatomegaly was found on abdominal palpation, but the remainder of the physical examination was unremarkable.Abdominal and thoracic point-of-care ultrasound examinations were performed, and there was no effusion noted. A venous blood gas (ABL 800 Flex,

Objective To evaluate outcome (survival to discharge) among trauma types (blunt, penetrating, both) in cats. Secondary objectives were to evaluate for associations between trauma type, injury severity, and the diagnostics and interventions selected by primary clinicians. Design Retrospective evaluation of veterinary trauma registry data. Setting Veterinary Committee on Trauma (VetCOT) veterinary trauma centers (VTCs). Animals A total of 3895 feline trauma patients entered in the VetCOT trauma registry from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019. Interventions Data collected included patient demographics, trauma type, Abdominal Fluid Score (AFS), Animal Trauma Triage (ATT) score, surgical intervention, glide sign on Thoracic Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma, Triage, and Tracking (TFAST), pleural effusion on TFAST, modified Glasgow Coma Scale (mGCS), and outcome (survival to discharge). Measurements and Main Results Data from 3895 cats were collected over a 30‐month period. Incidence of trauma types was as follows: blunt, 58% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 56%–59%); penetrating, 35% (95% CI: 34%–37%); and combination, 7.4% (95% CI: 6.7%–8.3%). Differences in survival incidence among the trauma types were identified: blunt, 80% (95% CI: 78%–81%); penetrating, 90% (95% CI: 89%–92%); and combined, 68% (95% CI: 63%–74%) (P < 0.01). Cats in the penetrating trauma group had the lowest proportion of severe injuries (6%) and highest proportion of mGCS of 18 (89%); cats with combined trauma had the highest proportion of severe injuries (26%) and lowest proportion of mGCS of 18 (63%). Point‐of‐care ultrasound and surgery were not performed in the majority of cases. When surgery was performed, the majority of blunt cases’ procedures occurred in the operating room (79%), and the majority of penetrating cases’ procedures were performed in the emergency room (81%). Conclusions Cats suffering from penetrating trauma had the best outcome (survival), lower ATT scores, and higher mGCS overall. Cats that sustained a component of blunt trauma had a lower survival rate, higher ATT scores, and the highest proportion of mGCS <18.

Objective: To evaluate outcome (survival to discharge) among trauma types (blunt, penetrating, both) in dogs. The secondary objective was to evaluate if other trauma registry parameters differ between trauma types and influence survival.

An 11‐year‐old spayed female Basset Hound was presented to the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for evaluation of a 7‐week history of intermittent collapse, waxing and waning lethargy, and hyporexia. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a 6‐mm hypoechoic splenic nodule that, on cytologic evaluation, revealed marked neutrophilic inflammation with intracellular and extracellular bacterial rods frequently producing oval subterminal to terminal endospores, suggestive of Clostridium. Matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF) performed on bacteria isolated from this nodule initially identified a Clostridium species, which was eventually confirmed with 16 s rDNA sequencing. Computed tomography (CT) and exploratory laparotomy subsequently identified a 2.5‐cm diameter tubular structure beginning at the caudal aspect of the right kidney and coursing caudally containing gas and fluid, consistent with a retroperitoneal abscess, which was resected and also cultured Clostridium spp. The dog was discharged 3 days postoperatively and was alive at the time of writing, 7 months after discharge. This case highlights a previously unrecognized bacterial agent in a retroperitoneal abscess. The use of cytologic evaluation yielded a diagnosis of endospore‐forming bacteria suggestive of Clostridium sooner than culture and histopathology, which allowed for adjustment in the antibiotic protocol.