Vet World Vol.15 August-2022 Article-25
Research Article
Veterinary World, 15(8): 2095-2101
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.2095-2101
Prognostic factors associated with survival and hospitalization time in pediatric canine patients diagnosed with presumptive acute viral gastroenteritis
2. Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.
3. Anicura - Centro Hospitalar Veterinário, R. Manuel Pinto de Azevedo 118 4100-320 Porto, Portugal.
4. Hospital Veterinário Bom Jesus, Av. General Carilho da Silva Pinto 52 4715-380 Braga, Portugal.
5. Center for the Study of Animal Sciences, CECA-ICETA, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Background and Aim: Acute viral gastroenteritis is one of the main causes of hospitalization in dogs during the 1st year of life. This retrospective study aimed to describe a pediatric canine population presumptively diagnosed with acute viral gastroenteritis and to identify potential prognostic factors that influence hospitalization time (HT) and mortality.
Materials and Methods: Canine patients up to 12 months of age diagnosed with presumptive acute viral gastroenteritis were searched retrospectively from two veterinary hospitals during a 5-year period (2015–2020). Information regarding patient signalment, prophylactic care, clinical signs, blood test results, presence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and additional treatments were recorded to analyze their association with HT and mortality. Only dogs with a complete medical record until death or discharge were included in the study.
Results: Ninety-four dogs were identified: 76 dogs (80.9%) survived with a median HT of 5 days (range: 2–16 days) and 18 dogs (19.1%) died with a median HT of 3½ days (range: 1–8 days) after admission. The presence of fever and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) administration was significantly associated with a lower survival rate (p = 0.021 and p = 0.037) in the multivariate analysis. Among survivors, incomplete primo-vaccination, the presence of hematochezia, and FFP administration were considered independent predictors of time to clinical recovery (p = 0.026, p = 0.047, and p = 0.026, respectively), being associated with higher HT.
Conclusion: The presence of fever and FFP administration was significantly associated with a lower survival rate. An inadequate primo-vaccination status prior to admission, hematochezia, and FFP administration was associated with longer HT in surviving patients. Further studies are needed to confirm the present results. Keywords: acute viral gastroenteritis, dog, infectious gastroenteritis, plasma administration, prognosis.
Keywords: acute viral gastroenteritis, dog, infectious gastroenteritis, plasma administration, prognosis.
How to cite this article: Magalhães TR, Gregório H, Araújo J, Ribeiro L, Dourado MJ, Batista S, and Queiroga FL (2022) Prognostic factors associated with survival and hospitalization time in pediatric canine patients diagnosed with presumptive acute viral gastroenteritis, Veterinary World, 15(8): 2095–2101.
Received: 18-04-2022 Accepted: 27-06-2022 Published online: 30-08-2022
Corresponding author: Felisbina Luisa Queiroga E-mail: fqueirog@utad.pt
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.2095-2101
Copyright: Magalhães, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.