Community-acquired infectious pneumonia in puppies: 65 cases (1993-2002)

Abstract

Objective: To identify causative organisms, treatment, outcome, and prognosis for dogs < 1 year old with community-acquired infectious pneumonia.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 65 dogs.

Procedures: Dogs were considered to have community-acquired infectious pneumonia if they had clinical signs of primary respiratory tract disease in conjunction with radiographic evidence of alveolar disease and positive results following bacterial culture of tracheal wash fluid.

Results: Most dogs were hypoxemic at the time of initial examination, with pulmonary function becoming worse during the first few days of hospitalization before improving; 57 (88%) dogs survived to discharge. Bordetella bronchiseptica was isolated from tracheal wash fluid from 32 (49%) dogs, and other organisms, predominantly gram-negative enteric bacteria, were isolated from the other 33 (51%). Dogs with Bordetella pneumonia were significantly younger (median, 14 vs 21 weeks), were significantly more likely to have been obtained from a pet store (19/31 vs 7/32), had been owned for a significantly shorter time prior to the onset of illness (median, 18 vs 90 days), had significantly higher PvCO2 values at initial examination (median, 48.7 vs 41.3 mm Hg), were significantly more likely to receive supplemental oxygen (25/32 vs 16/33), and had significantly longer hospitalization times (mean, 7.2 vs 4.9 days) than did dogs with pneumonia caused by any other organism.

Conclusions and clinical relevance: Results suggested that a type of community-acquired infectious pneumonia could be identified in dogs < 1 year old, with disease being more severe in dogs with Bordetella pneumonia than in dogs with pneumonia caused by other bacterial organisms.