Gram-negative multi-drug resistant bacteria influence survival to discharge for horses with septic synovial...

Bacterial colonization of synovial structures can cause infections that are difficult to treat. Systemic and local antimicrobials and repeated joint lavages are the mainstays of therapy. However, despite aggressive treatments, infection may persist, leading to significant tissue damage or death of the patient. In order to investigate the impact of bacterial culture and antimicrobial resistance on survival to discharge, we reviewed medical records of horses admitted to the University of Pennsylvania's large animal teaching hospital from 2010-2015. Two-hundred and six cases with a definitive diagnosis of septic synovitis and a synovial fluid sample submitted for microbiological culture were included in the study. Of these horses, 48% were culture negative and 52% were positive for any bacterial growth, of which 66% were gram-positive and 28% were gram-negative aerobic organisms with 4% anaerobic and 2% fungal organisms. Overall survival to discharge from hospital was 86%. Horses that had negative growth on culture were more likely to survive until discharge (p < 0.02). Multivariable analyses revealed that the likelihood of euthanasia was significantly associated with identification of coagulase positive Staphylococcus spp. (OR 7.66, 5.46-10.74, p < 0.0001), β-hemolytic Streptococcus spp. (OR 5.18, 3.56-7.55, p < 0.0001), Enterococcus spp. (OR 18.38, 11.45-29.52, p = 0.002), Enterobacteriaceae (OR 31.37, 22.28-44.17, p < 0.0001), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (OR 9.31, 5.30-16.34, p = 0.0004) or other gram-negative species (OR 3.51, 2.07-5.94, p = 0.001). Multi-drug resistance and gram-negative bacteria species were associated with significantly decreased survival rates (OR 119.24, 70.57-201.46, p < 0.0001). In conclusion, prognosis for survival to discharge was poor for horses that were infected with gram-negative organisms, particularly those with MDR phenotypes.