Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify the species and antimicrobial susceptibility of bacteria involved in parietal fibrinous peritonitis (PFP). We studied 156 peritoneal fluid samples from cows presenting PFP after caesarean section. Bacteria were cultured in selective media and their antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by disk diffusion assay. Bacteria were isolated in the majority (129/156; 83%) of samples. The majority (82/129; 63%) of positive samples contained one dominant species, while two or more species were cultured in 47/129 (36%) samples. Trueperella pyogenes (T. Pyogenes) (107 strains) was the most identified species, followed by Escherichia coli (E. coli) (38 strains), Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis) (6 strains), and Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) (6 strains). Several other species were sporadically identified. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested in 59/185 strains, predominantly E. coli (38 strains) and P. mirabilis (6 strains). Antibiotic resistance, including resistance to molecules of critical importance, was commonly observed; strains were classified as weakly drug resistant (22/59; 37%), multidrug resistant (24/59; 41%), extensively drug resistant (12/59; 20%), or pan-drug resistant (1/59; 2%). In conclusion, extensive antibiotic resistance in the isolated germs might contribute to treatment failure. Ideally, antimicrobial therapy of PFP should be based upon bacterial culture and susceptibility testing.
Highlights
Parietal fibrinous peritonitis (PFP) is a common complication after laparotomy in cows
Aerobic or facultative anaerobic bacteria were identified in all the positive cultures (129/129), while anaerobic bacteria were identified in only 13/129 samples and always associated with aerobic germs (p < 0.001)
Our results indicate that therapy failure of parietal fibrinous peritonitis (PFP) could be attributed, at least partly, to antimicrobial resistance, since a majority of bacteria identified in PFP displayed moderate or extensive antimicrobial resistance
Summary
Parietal fibrinous peritonitis (PFP) is a common complication after laparotomy in cows. It is characterized by the accumulation of a considerable volume of inflammatory exudate and fibrin inside a thick capsule between the outer sheath of the parietal peritoneum and the abdominal muscular layers [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. In Belgium, PFP is frequently encountered in rural veterinary practice due to the large number of caesarean sections (CS) in the Belgian blue breed [4,5,6,7,8]. Symptoms are variable and may include hyperthermia, anorexia, weight loss, visual abdominal distention, and colic [4,5,6,7,9,10]
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