OBSTRUCTIVE CHOLELITHIASIS AND CHOLECYSTITIS IN A KINKAJOU (POTOS FLAVUS)

Abstract

A 14.5-yr-old female kinkajou (Potos flavus) was diagnosed with cholelithiasis after an episode of vomiting; diagnostics included biochemical analysis and abdominal ultrasound exam. Despite antimicrobial treatment, cholelithiasis led to cholecystitis. A cholecystotomy was performed to remove choleliths and inspissated bile. Morphological and spectroscopic properties of the choleliths were similar to those of gallstones from the brown pigment family and Streptococcus sp. and Escherichia coli were isolated from the bile. Biliary tract infection is directly related to pathogenesis of brown pigment gallstones. Serial ultrasound exams revealed that cholecystitis developed secondary to the presence of gallstones in the biliary tree. Despite full recovery postsurgery, the patient died 15 mo later from gallbladder necrosis. Based on the progression of this case, a cholecystectomy would be preferred over a cholecystotomy in similar cases, and the efficacy of long-acting antibiotics may not be adequate in nontarget species. Gallstones and biliary tract infection are rarely described in small domestic carnivores, and this is the first reported case in a kinkajou.

Chronic cholecystitis: Diagnostic and therapeutic insights from formerly bile-farmed Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus)

“…The Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria isolated from the 59 bile aspirates were consistent with findings reported in humans [ 19 , 20 ], small animals [ 39 , 40 , 41 – 44 ], single cases of a kinkajou ( Potos flavus ) [ 45 ], and a domestic ferret ( Mustela putorius ) (non-bile farmed) [ 46 ], despite the additional infection pathway related to bile extraction. Additionally, in formerly bile-farmed bears rescued from Chinese bile farms the bacteria isolated were E .…”