A retrospective study of the clinical presentation of 140 dogs and 39 cats with bacteraemia

To evaluate retrospective data from 140 dogs and 39 cats with positive blood cultures that were presented to the Clinic for Small Animal Medicine in Munich from 1995 to 2004.

The identity of bacteria isolated from blood cultures of dogs and cats with bacteraemia was determined, and clinical and laboratory findings and outcome of animals with Gram-negative versus Gram-positive bacteraemia were compared.

Sepsis was diagnosed in 81.7 per cent of dogs and 59.5 per cent of cats with bacteraemia. Escherichia coli was isolated in one third of the animals. Dogs with bacteraemia more often showed monocytosis and increased alkaline phosphatase activity, while in cats, hyperglycaemia was found more commonly. Dogs with Gram-negative bacteraemia had hypoalbuminaemia significantly more often than dogs with Gram-positive bacteraemia, while among the remaining parameters, there were no statistically significant differences.

Not all dogs and cats with a positive blood culture met the criteria for sepsis. Bacteraemia caused by Gram-positive versus Gram-negative bacteria cannot be distinguished based on clinical or laboratory parameters, and bacterial culture and susceptibility testing have to be performed for the right choice of antibiotic treatment.