Male dogs, older dogs, and Great Danes appeared more likely to be affected with diskospondylitis than female dogs, dogs < 1 year of age, and mixed-breed dogs, respectively. Long-term administration of antimicrobial drugs for treatment of diskospondylitis may be expected. Identification of the causative organism and early treatment are recommended.

Objective: To report clinical findings and explore prognostic factors for dogs that had cholecystectomy for gall bladder mucocele. Study Design: Retrospective case series. Animals: Dogs (n = 43) with gall bladder mucoceles. Results: Diagnosis of gall bladder mucoceles was confirmed by histopathology and 74% were diagnosed based on preoperative abdominal ultrasonography. Intraoperative evidence of gall bladder rupture was noted in 10 dogs (23%), and 16 (37%) had evidence of previous leakage in the abdominal cavity. One dog had positive bacterial growth from the gall bladder content. The most common histopathologic findings in liver biopsies obtained at surgery were cholangiohepatitis, biliary hyperplasia, or cholestasis. Univariate analysis showed evidence of postoperative hypotension (P = .05) to be significantly negatively associated with survival. Significant difference in mean postoperative serum lactate (P = .034) and postoperative packed cell volume (P = .063) between dogs that survived and died was also noted. Conclusions: Elevations in postoperative serum lactate concentrations and immediate postoperative hypotension in dogs undergoing cholecystectomy for gall bladder mucoceles are associated with poor clinical outcome.Although a recognized disease process for several decades, the incidence of gall bladder mucoceles (GM) in dogs appears to be increasing.

One hundred dogs (83 intact males, 15 castrated males, and two intact females) underwent 110 perineal herniorrhaphy procedures. Mixed-breed dogs (n = 32), miniature poodles (n = 14), Boston terriers (n = 11), and Pekingese (n = 9) were represented most frequently. Perineal swelling (n = 48) and a perineal defect on rectal palpation (n = 31) were common clinical signs. Twenty dogs had urinary bladder retroflexion and were significantly more likely to have elevated serum urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations, hyperkalemia, hyperphosphatemia, and neutrophilic leukocytosis. Only five of 43 dogs evaluated radiographically had prostatomegaly. Of 30 dogs receiving oral barium, all had rectal deviation. The most frequent complications during the hospitalization period were incisional (n = 35), followed by rectal prolapse (n = 9), tenesmus (n = 8), and depression (n = 8). Fifty-six of 70 dogs with follow-up had no complications.

Results suggested that urinary tract catheterization is a reasonable alternative for management of dogs with urinary bladder dysfunction, but that duration of catheterization should be minimized and indiscriminate antimicrobial administration to dogs with indwelling urinary catheters should be avoided.

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