Animal Health Solution - a Covetrus magazine for veterinary professionals
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1275770
22 Covetrus | ph: 855.724.3461 | fx: 888.329.3861 | northamerica.covetrus.com Urethral obstruction (UO) is one of the complications most frequently observed in cats with feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) and is mainly associated with idiopathic cystitis, urolithiasis and bacterial infection of the urinary tract. The most common causes of obstruction are urethral plugs, uroliths, urethral spasm, inflammation and edema of the urethral mucosa. 1-3 Clinical signs of FLUTD usually include stranguria, periuria, excessive grooming of the perineal area, vocalizations, lethargy and anorexia. 1,4 These are not specific to any particular disease, so the comprehensive diagnostic approach is of great importance when considering the primary cause of UO. – The article by Del-Angel-Caraza et al. (2017) describes in detail the diagnostic approach to FLUTD. In the patient with UO, physical examination may show a distended and painful urinary bladder, tenderness of the abdomen, penis scoriation by licking, and sometimes the urethral plug can be seen sticking out of the external urethral orifice. In turn, clinical signs associated with dehydration can be seen, such as prolonged skin turgor, dry mucous membranes, bradycardia, and hypothermia. 2 Some authors consider urethral plugs to be a primary FLUTD (Figure 1); however, pathophysiologically, these are formed as a result of vasodilation resulting from a chronic inflammatory process, where the permeability of the blood vessels of the submucosa are altered, increasing secretion of mucoproteins in the urinary tract lumen , which act as a agglutinating factor of structures such as erythrocytes, leukocytes, epithelial cells, crystals – struvite or calcium oxalate – and bacteria, increasing their size and making the plug denser. 2 How to remove urethral obstruction in cats Part one Javier Del-Angel-Caraza • Elvia Aguiñaga-Negrete • Alejandra Cristina Bernal-Torres • Sofía Perini-Perera Rafael Morán-Muñoz • Alicia Pamela Pérez-Sánchez • Israel Alejandro Quijano-Hernández Hospital Veterinario para Pequeñas Especies, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca-México. AUTHORS