Introduction
- Inflammation of the bladder.
- Cause : usually an ascending bacterial infection; predisposing factors are necessary for this opportunistic infection.
- Signs : stranguria, dysuria, increased frequency of urination (pollakiuria) and small amounts of urine, hematuria.
- Treatment : antibiotics.
- Sequelae : ascending urinary tract infections (pyelonephritis), diskospondylitis (rarely), prostatitis, sepsis, urolithiasis.
- Prognosis : good if uncomplicated; guarded if chronic; poor if secondary to malignant neoplasia.
Diagnosis
Clinical signs
- Small, empty bladder on abdominal palpation is most common.
- Thickened bladder wall on abdominal palpation.
Diagnosis
Differential diagnosis
Secondary cystitis
- Bladder diverticulum
. - Urolithiasis
. - Neoplasia


. - Lower urinary tract obstruction


- Diabetes mellitus
. - Hyperadrenocorticism
. - Chemotherapeutic agents (cyclophosphamide causes sterile hemorrhagic cystitis).
- Urethral dysfunction, bladder dysfunction.
- Fanconi's syndrome
.
Sequelae
Prognosis
- Good: if uncomplicated primary cystitis and underlying cause identified and removed.
- Guarded: if cannot remove underlying cause, or if complications, eg severe prostatitis, diskospondylitis, sepsis, pyelonephritis.
- Poor: if underlying malignant neoplasia.
Expected response to treatment
- Resolution of clinical signs usually within days of starting appropriate treatment.
Reasons for treatment failure
- Inappropriate antibiotic (not based on urine culture/sensitivity).
- Underlying cause not identified.
- Complications have occurred, eg prostatitis, diskospondylitis, septicemia, pyelonephritis.
- Candidal urinary tract infection in immunocompromised animal or after long-term antibiotic therapy.
- Imbedded bacterial infections 'hidden' in kidney/prostate/bladder wall.
Sources
Publications
Refereed papers
- Ling G V et al(2001) Interrelations of organism prevalence, specimen collection method, and host age, sex, and breed among 8534 canine urinary tract infections (1969-1995). JVIM 15 (4), 341-347.
- Norris C R, Williams B J et al(2000) Recurrent and persistent urinary trct infections in dogs - 383 cases (1969-1995). JAAHA 36 , 484-492.
- Low D A, Braaten B A, Ling G V, Johnson D L & Ruby A L (1988) Isolation and comparison of Escherichia coli strains from canine and human patients with urinary tract infections. Infect Immun 56 (10), 2601-2609.
- Thomsen M K, Svane L C & Poulsen P H (1986) Canine urinary tract infection. Detection, prevalence and therapeutic consequences of bacteriuria. Nord Vet Med 38 (6), 394-402.
- Ginder D R (1974) Urinary tract infection and pyelonephritis due to Escherichia coli in dogs infected with canine adenovirus. J Infect Dis 129 (6), 715-719.

















