Abstract
Endoscopic procedures are widely used in veterinary medicine, and their role in producing transient bacteremia is debatable. The growing issue of antibiotic resistance requires the correct use of antibiotics, avoiding their administration when not strictly necessary. Studies highlighting post-endoscopy bacteremia in veterinary medicine are extremely rare and often involve very few animals. This study describes the results from 74 owned dogs, brought to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the Department of Veterinary Medical Science of the University of Bologna, for the purpose of undergoing an endoscopic procedure. Two blood samples were taken from each dog, one before and one after the procedure, in order to assess the incidence of bacteremia linked to endoscopic procedures. Eight dogs were tested positive at the second blood culture with an Incidence Risk (IR) of 10.8%. No statistical differences were found by comparing positive and negative blood cultures with respect to sex, age, weight and anesthesia duration. In addition, no difference was found between airway and digestive tract procedures. The present findings showed that the probability of developing bacteremia after an endoscopic procedure was quite low, and additional studies confirming this are certainly recommended as well as the evaluation of categories of patients potentially considered at risk.
Highlights
Endoscopic procedures in veterinary medicine are performed for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes [1,2,3,4,5,6].Animals 2020, 10, 2265; doi:10.3390/ani10122265 www.mdpi.com/journal/animalsLocal or remote tissue infections are complications that may follow an endoscopy
The incidence of bacteremia linked to endoscopic procedures has been assessed in human medicine by several studies which showed a low percentage, up to 8%, of short-lasting transient bacteremia in these patients [7,11,12,13]
Considering these results, it is possible to draw up guidelines, in human medicine, for antibiotic prophylaxis during endoscopies that permit administration of antibiotics only in patients considered at risk or undergoing procedures considered at high risk [8]
Summary
Endoscopic procedures in veterinary medicine are performed for both diagnostic (i.e., gastrointestinal and respiratory disease) and therapeutic (such as the removal of foreign bodies) purposes [1,2,3,4,5,6].Animals 2020, 10, 2265; doi:10.3390/ani10122265 www.mdpi.com/journal/animalsLocal or remote tissue infections are complications that may follow an endoscopy. The incidence of bacteremia linked to endoscopic procedures has been assessed in human medicine by several studies which showed a low percentage, up to 8%, of short-lasting transient bacteremia in these patients [7,11,12,13]. Considering these results, it is possible to draw up guidelines, in human medicine, for antibiotic prophylaxis during endoscopies that permit administration of antibiotics only in patients considered at risk (patients with high-risk cardiac conditions or gastrointestinal tract infections) or undergoing procedures considered at high risk (esophageal bougienage or PEG/PEJ tube placement) [8]
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