Lower urinary tract disease in Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus): a 14 years retrospective study (2004-2018)

• Autor(a) principal: Araújo, Salomé Azevedo
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10348/9201
• topic: porquinhos-da-Índia; ; ; ;; urolitiase; cistite; ITUI; doença urinaria

Lower urinary tract diseases in guinea pigs are becoming more common in exotic medicine, particularly urolithiasis, cystitis and urinary tract infections (UTI). Guinea pigs have gained popularity as pets, so the study of their diseases is becoming more relevant. In this dissertation, a retrospective study is presented on the lower urinary tract disease in guinea pigs. It was used the clinical records from Bairbre O’Malley Veterinary Hospital, of a 14-year period. The objective was to analyze the populations characteristics, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, response to treatment and compared the data with the literature. It was also analyzed the association between the clinical variables with the gender, the diagnosis, the location of the uroliths and response to treatment. In our study the median age of cavies was 3 years old. There was an association between diagnosis and gender (p = 0.002), males were diagnosed predominantly with urolithiasis (n = 32, 61.5%) while females were diagnosed mainly with UTI and cystitis. It was also observed a statistically significant association between gender and the anatomical location of urolith (p = 0.001), revealing that urethral calculi were more common in females (n = 10; 50%), while bladder uroliths were more prevalent in males (n = 23, 71.9%). The association between gender and disease recurrence was also statistically relevant (p = 0.025), with females having more episodes of recurrence than males. The gender also presented a significant statistical association with the family history of urinary diseases, (p <0.001) with females (n = 45; 75%) apparently being predisposed to males. There was also a statistically significant association between disease recurrence and diagnosis (p = 0.005). Animals with a presumptive diagnosis of cystitis or ITUI were the ones that used the most (n = 39; 62.9%). Regarding the reason for the presentation, the frequency of occurrence was very significant (p <0.001) most of the guinea pigs presented to the consultation due to urologic symptoms, namely dysuria (n = 84, 71.8%), stranguria (n = 84, 71.8%), hematuria (n = 78, 66.7%) and pain in the abdomen (n = 72, 61.5%). The association between the reason for the consultation and the diagnosis (p = 0.035) revealed that in animals with nonspecific clinical signs, most were diagnosed with urolithiasis. The associations between hematuria and the diagnosis (p = 0.012) also presented statistical significance. The absence of these clinical signs was more frequent in animals with urolithiasis. Radiography was the most used diagnostic tool (n = 105, 89.7%). Regarding treatment, the association of potassium citrate was associated with a better response to treatment (p = 0.004). This study allowed us to conclude that lower urinary tract diseases are common and easily treatable in guinea pigs. However, the high rate of recurrences requires a systematized clinical approach and careful medical follow-up.