Dacanay SJ, Barber RM, Diehl KA, Myrna KE. Incidence and risk factors for surgical site infection following enucleation in dogs.
Front Vet Sci 2023;
9:1086956. [PMID:
36713880 PMCID:
PMC9878593 DOI:
10.3389/fvets.2022.1086956]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction
Surgical site infections (SSI) increase morbidity, increase treatment costs, and can delay onset of necessary adjunctive therapy. The goal of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence of and risk factors of SSI after enucleation in dogs.
Methods
Medical records were searched at one veterinary teaching hospital and identified 280 dogs that underwent enucleation and had an adequate follow-up to assess SSI. Multiple preoperative (e.g., reason for enucleation), peri-operative (e.g., surgical approach and surgeon experience level), and post-operative (e.g., use of post-operative antibiotics or anti-inflammatory medications) variables were assessed as risk factors for development of SSI.
Results
The incidence of SSI after enucleation was 5%, and no risk factors for SSI were identified. Dogs that received cephalexin as a prophylactic post-operative antibiotic were statistically more likely to develop SSI versus those that received a different post-operative antibiotic (p = 0.045). However, the clinical significance of this finding is unclear as administration of prophylactic post-operative antibiotics overall did not reduce the risk of SSI in the population evaluated here.
Discussion
No risk factors were identified to guide clinical decision-making for prevention of SSI. Additionally, the results do not support the use of prophylactic antibiotics after enucleation in dogs.
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