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Severe anemia in cats with urethral obstruction: 17 cases (2002–2011)
Author(s) -
Beer Kari Santoro,
Drobatz Kenneth J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of veterinary emergency and critical care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.886
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1476-4431
pISSN - 1479-3261
DOI - 10.1111/vec.12437
Subject(s) - cats , medicine , anemia , urinary system , creatinine , medical record , retrospective cohort study , urinary tract obstruction , surgery , anesthesia
Objective To characterize clinical parameters of cats with severe anemia due to suspected urinary bladder hemorrhage associated with urethral obstruction. Design Retrospective case‐control study. Setting University teaching hospital. Animals Seventeen cats with urethral obstruction and severe anemia (group “UO‐A”) that required transfusion were identified via medical record database search. Thirty cats with urethral obstruction and mild or no anemia (group “UO”) were included as controls. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results The median PCV of all cases at presentation was 28% (range, 9%–47%). Seven cats had PCV ≤20% at presentation, and all transfused cats had PCV ≤20% at the time of transfusion. Three cats did not receive a transfusion despite PCV ≤18%. Cats in the UO‐A group had a significantly longer duration of clinical signs ( P = 0.001), and were more likely to have a history of previous urethral obstruction ( P = 0.011), have a heart murmur ( P = 0.002), have a gallop rhythm ( P = 0.005), and have lower blood pressure ( P = 0.007) compared to those in the UO group. Additionally, UO‐A cats had significantly lower pH, more negative base excess, higher BUN, and higher creatinine compared to UO cats. Duration of urinary catheterization was significantly ( P = 0.016) longer in UO‐A cats. All UO cats survived to discharge, whereas 4/17 (23.5%) UO‐A cats were euthanized ( P = 0.013). Conclusions A history of previous urethral obstruction and longer duration of clinical signs may be important risk factors for severe anemia in UO cats. Additionally, UO‐A cats appeared to be more severely affected, as evidenced by lower blood pressure, more severe metabolic acidosis, higher BUN and creatinine, and worse outcome.