Negative pressure wound therapy for the management of surgical site infections with zoonotic, drug-resistant pathogens on the upper body of the horse

Equine Vet Educ. August 2023;35(8):e531-e536. 18 Refs

Tianti Askey¹, Dustin Major², Carolyn Arnold

¹ One Thirteen Equine, Millsap, TX, USA.; ² dmajor@cvm.tamu.edu

Author Abstract

This case series reviews the use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) for surgical site infections (SSI) on the upper body of six horses at an academic referral institution between 2016 and 2020. The SSIs consisted of three ventral midline celiotomy incisions post-abdominal exploratory, one paralumbar flank incision for removal of an ovarian abscess, an incision for resection of a septic jugular vein, and a large defect resulting from the resection of chronically abscessed skin and subcutaneous tissue on the shoulder and pectoral region. All SSIs contained zoonotic, polymicrobial, multi-drug resistant pathogens (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or extended spectrum beta-lactamase Klebsiella or Enterobacteriaceae) that were managed without systemic, regional, or topical antimicrobials. All horses were discharged from the hospital, and long-term follow-up revealed satisfactory functional and cosmetic outcomes according to owner questionnaires. Duration of NPWT ranged from 4 to 15 days in five horses, but one horse required NPWT for 70 days due to the large nature of the defect. The NPWT system was easy to use, well-tolerated by patients, and produced acceptable functional and cosmetic outcomes for the clients. By containing wound exudate and reducing daily wound care, it improved hospital biosecurity and reduced exposure to hospital personnel.

Keywords

horse, contaminated wounds, NPWT, surgical site infection, vacuum-assisted closure

Article Tools:

Email to me

Archives Highlights:

Feline blood donation: Description and adverse reactions from 29 201 donation events between 2019 and 2023.
Adverse reactions were uncommon (0.29%, 2.88/1000 donor events) and most commonly were cardiorespiratory (0.08%, 0.75/1000 donor events) or behavioral (0.06%, 0.62/1000 donor events). The only risk factor significantly associated with adverse reactions was conscious donation, with conscious donors 4.4 times more likely to have an adverse reaction.

Factors Associated with Medication Noncompliance in Dogs in New Zealand.
Medication noncompliance was recorded for 47% (71/151) of owners. Increasing dog age was associated with better owner compliance. Forty-seven percent (71/151) of owners reported that "nobody" showed them how to administer the medication. One-third of dog owners (47/151) reported challenges in medicating their pets. The most common reason cited by clients reporting challenges was a resistant pet.

Clinical characterization of a novel episodic ataxia in young working Cocker Spaniels.
The mean age at clinical onset was 4 months. Signs were acute and included episodic body swaying, titubation, cerebellar ataxia, wide-base stance, and hypermetria, all while mentation remained unaltered. Duration of episodes ranged from 30 minutes up to 24 hours, and their frequency varied from weekly to once every 5 months.

Recovery of ambulation in small, nonbrachycephalic dogs after conservative management of acute thoracolumbar disk extrusion.
Forty-nine of fifty-one (96%) of deep pain-positive and 10/21 (48%) of deep pain-negative dogs recovered ambulation within the 12-week period. The median time to ambulation was 11 and 25 days for deep pain-positive and -negative dogs, respectively. Reduction in spinal cord compression varied among individuals from minimal to complete and apparently was unrelated to the recovery of ambulation.

Risk Factors for Injury in Border Collies Competing in Agility Competitions.
The jump height relative to the shoulder height was associated with injury, with dogs jumping noticeably above or below shoulder height more likely to report a history of injury. Other identified risk factors included the number of weekends spent competing/year, the number of competitions at the national level, the age when starting elbow height jumps and backside jumps, the acquisition of the dog from a breeder, and the age of the handler.