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Objective To determine the incidence of bacteriuria at the time of presentation and as a result of indwelling urethral catheterization in naturally occurring feline urethral obstruction (UO). Design Prospective observational study. Setting University teaching hospital. Animals A population of 34 male cats with UO admitted for standard medical care. Interventions A presenting urine sample was obtained by cystocentesis (precatheterization). After catheterization (performed under strict aseptic technique), a urine sample was obtained through the urinary catheter every 24 hours, as well as just prior to catheter removal. Urine was applied to culture media within 30 minutes of collection or refrigerated immediately at 4°C for subsequent culture the following morning. Samples positive for growth (defined as > 104 colony forming units/mL) had bacterial identification and susceptibility testing performed. Measurements and main results All 34 cats enrolled had initial culture performed. Of these, 1 patient died and 2 were euthanized within 24 hours and therefore subsequent cultures were obtained. The remaining 31 cats had median catheterization time of 42 hours (range 20-110 hours). No urine cultures yielded growth at presentation (0/34). A total of 4 of 31 patients (13%) subsequently had bacterial cultures that yielded growth. In these cases, all yielded growth by the 24-hour time point, and all had the same organism identified on subsequent cultures. Identified bacteria included Streptococcus spp. (3) and Pasteurella spp. (1). Conclusions The male cats with UO in this study did not have bacteriuria at the time of presentation. The overall incidence of acquired bacteriuria was found to be 13% and could represent a transient bacterial population or true bacterial urinary tract infection. Based on these findings, empirical administration of antibiotics is not warranted in male cats with UO.

Objective To assess the rate of bacterial contamination of fluid and ports in intravenous bags in a veterinary emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU). Design Experimental model. Setting Ninety intravenous fluid bags of lactated balanced-electrolytes solution (1 L) hung in a university hospital. Interventions Bags were hung in 2 different locations in the ER (sink and bins) and one location in the ICU (sink) for 11 days. Bags were punctured 3 times daily with a sterile needle to simulate clinical use. Injection ports were swabbed and 50 mL of fluid were collected in duplicates on days 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10. Aerobic bacterial cultures were performed on the fluid and injection port. Contamination was defined as bacterial growth of a similar phenotype across 2 consecutive times. Increase in the fluid contamination rate from day 0 was tested using an exact binomial test. Port contamination rate between locations was tested using Fisher's exact test. Main Results Combined bacterial growth on injection ports reached a mean (95% confidence interval) of 8.1 (0.005–16.2) cfu/port on day 10. The combined port contamination was 3.3%, 11.1%, 17.8%, and 31.1% on days 0, 2, 4, and 7, respectively. Port contamination was similar between ER and ICU. However, port contamination was higher in the sink versus the bins area (38.3% vs 16.7%, P = 0.032). No fluid bag was contaminated at days 0 and 2. The contamination rate of fluid bag was 1.1% and 4.4% on days 4 and 7, respectively. All bags with contaminated fluid were in the ER (6.7%, 95% exact binomial confidence interval 1.9–16.2%). Conclusions Injection port contamination reached 31.1% on day 7. Contamination was more likely when the bags were hung next to a sink. In our model of bag puncture, fluid contamination occurred between days 2 and 4.

Objective To document whether presumptive bacterial translocation (PBT) occurs in horses with small intestinal strangulation (SIS). Design Prospective clinical cohort study. Setting University tertiary care facility. Animals Thirty-six adult horses with SIS (clinical cases) and 10 adult horses without gastrointestinal disease (control cases). Interventions Sterile collection and bacterial culture of samples from peripheral venous blood, mesenteric venous blood, mesenteric lymphatic tissue, and intestinal aspirates from horses with SIS and control horses without gastrointestinal disease. Measurements and Main Results Five of 36 (13.8%) horses with SIS had at least 1 sample yield a positive result. Shorter SIS bowel segments were more likely to yield a positive culture result. (P < 0.01). Two of 10 of control horses had positive culture results with different bacterial species identified compared to horses with SIS. Antimicrobial usage did not influence bacterial culture status (P = 0.31). There were no differences between culture-positive and culture-negative horses with SIS regarding admission, clinical, or clinicopathologic variables. Conclusions PBT occurs in normal horses and in horses with SIS. Bacterial genera differed between groups. A low incidence of PBT occurs in horses with SIS suggesting postoperative morbidity in some cases may be due to other factors.