ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hospital-acquired anemia is commonly described in people but limited information currently is available regarding its prevalence in animals. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Assess the prevalence of hospital-acquired anemia in hospitalized critically ill dogs and cats, and examine its relationship with phlebotomy practices, transfusion administration, and survival to discharge. ANIMALS: Eight hundred and fifty-one client-owned animals (688 dogs and 163 cats). METHODS: A multicenter, observational study was conducted in which packed cell volume (PCV) was recorded at the time of admission and on subsequent hospitalization days. Signalment, number of blood samples obtained, underlying disease, whether or not blood products were administered, duration of hospitalization, and survival to discharge were recorded. RESULTS: Admission anemia prevalence was 32%, with overall prevalence during the hospitalization period of 56%. The last recorded PCV was significantly lower than the admission PCV for both dogs (admission PCV, 42% [range, 6-67%]; last recorded PCV, 34% [range, 4-64%], P < .0001) and cats (admission PCV, 31% [range, 6-55%]; last recorded PCV, 26% [range, 10-46%], P < .0001). Patients that developed anemia had significantly more blood samples obtained (nonanemic, 5 blood samples [range, 2-54]; anemic, 7 blood samples [range, 2-49], P < .0001). Hospitalized cats were significantly more likely to develop anemia compared to dogs (P < .0001), but anemic dogs were significantly less likely to survive to discharge (P = .0001). Surgical patients were at higher risk of developing hospital-acquired anemia compared to medical patients (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9; P = .01). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Hospital-acquired anemia occurred frequently, especially in surgical patients. Additional studies focused on the direct effect of phlebotomy practices on the likelihood of anemia development in hospitalized animals are warranted.
Subject(s)
Anemia/veterinary , Cat Diseases/blood , Critical Illness , Dog Diseases/blood , Hematocrit/veterinary , Iatrogenic Disease , Anemia/etiology , Anemia/pathology , Animals , Cat Diseases/mortality , Cat Diseases/pathology , Cats , Cohort Studies , Dog Diseases/mortality , Dog Diseases/pathology , Dogs , Hospitals, AnimalABSTRACT
An experiment to assess the influence of commercially available infant formulas on characteristics of feces in a weanling piglet model was conducted. Seven commercial infant formulas [whey, whey+alpha-lactalbumin, whey+alpha-lactalbumin+oligofructose, whey+GOS+polyfructose, whey protein concentrate 1 (with 27.3% acid hydrolyzed fat), whey protein concentrate 2 (with 29.4% acid hydrolyzed fat), and enzymatically hydrolyzed whey protein concentrate] were offered to weanling piglets ad libitum for 14d. Fecal attributes that were assessed include: consistency, color, odor, dry matter, organic matter, pH, biogenic amines, short- and branched-chain fatty acids, phenols, indoles, and ammonia. Overall, there were very few differences among treatment groups in fecal attributes assessed. Minor differences in the concentrations of fecal acetate, valerate, putrescine, and cadaverine were observed in piglets fed GOS+polyfructose-containing formula. However, stool consistency, score, odor, pH, ammonia, phenols, and indoles were similar among treatment groups. Diet had an effect on fecal dry matter percentage, organic matter percentage, color, and 4 week body weights of the piglets. The results obtained in this experiment demonstrate that healthy gut function is prevalent in weanling piglets consuming the experimental treatments.