Canine cystitis - biofilm formation by bacterial isolates

ABSTRACT

Background: Biofilms have been reported as important virulent markers associated with drug resistance in urinary tractinfections (UTIs) in humans and dogs. However, in veterinary medicine, researches involving biofilm formation, treatments and preventions have been limited; yet, it is still possible to find few studies demonstrating biofilm-forming bacteriaassociated with different comorbidities such as otitis, wound infections, UTIs, and endometritis. These studies generallyselect dogs with chronic and recurrent infections, which could be an important factor in antibiotic resistance. We aimed toevaluate biofilms in sporadic cystitis regarding prevalence and drug resistance.Materials, Methods & Results: Urine samples were collected by cystocentesis from 36 client-owned dogs under clinicaland laboratory suspicion of non-recurrent urinary bladder infection (cystitis). Urine was aseptically plated onto bloodagar, MacConkey, and CLED, followed by incubation for 24 to 48 h. Definitive identification of a potential pathogen wasmade by subculture collected from an isolated colony to obtain a pure culture. The gram staining method and specificbiochemical tests (phenol red fermentation, lysine, phenylalanine, citrate, sulfide-indole-motility, and urease) were usedto distinguish and classify the bacteria. After identification, the bacteria were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by astandard disk diffusion method, using the following antimicrobials amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, ampicillin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, cefazolin, cephalothin, erythromycin, gentamicin, norfloxacin, and sulfamethoxazoletrimethoprim. The biofilm-forming ability was determined based on a culture...