Metritis
At Foothills Animal Hospital one of our routine recommendations for the period between birth of puppies (or kittens) is that the temperature of the mother be taken twice daily. After the first 24 hours the temperature should remain normal (between 101 and 102 F. in most dogs and cats) when the mother is at rest. If the temperature starts to rise the most common causes are mastitis (infection of the breast tissue) or metritis (infection of the uterus). It is also a wise precaution to feel each of the mothers breasts for signs of lumps, pain or excessive warmth daily. Many times metritis and mastitis can be detected before it starts to affect the babies using these methods.
What is metritis?
Metritis is a serious bacterial infection of the uterus. It usually occurs within a week of whelping or queening, but occasionally occurs after insemination or breeding. The infection can spread to the bloodstream and cause an infection of the entire body, or a sepsis.
What causes metritis?
Bacteria invades the uterus, most commonly right after birth when the uterus is most susceptible.The germs usually originate in the vagina. This is more likely to happen if there has been a difficult birth or if the mother has failed to deliver a fetus or placenta.
What are signs of metritis?
A cardinal sign of metritis is an abnormal discharge, a pus and/or green or brown colored fluid with an unpleasant odor, from the vulva (the external part of the female genitalia). Depression, loss of appetite, fever, poor mothering, and decreased milk production are also common.
How is metritis diagnosed?
Your veterinarian may suspect metritis after examining your
bitch or queen and obtaining the
history, but will probably want to run several tests to confirm
the diagnosis and check for any
underlying cause. A blood count is performed to look for response
to infection. Vagina cell
(cytologic) examination under the microscope will allow a check
for germs and pus in the
reproductive tract. When infection is found, cultures are performed
to identify the organism and
identify the best choice of antibiotic. An abdominal radiograph
(X-ray) is performed to check for a retained fetus. An ultrasound
is often performed to look for retained fetus or placenta, and
will visualize any retained fluid within the uterus.
How is metritis treated?
Treatment will depend upon your pet's condition. Severely ill
patients may need hospitalization for intravenous fluids and antibiotics.
Patients with a damaged uterus may require an
ovariohysterectomy (spay). For more stable patients, antibiotics
are given, and injections of
prostaglandins (they help empty out the infected uterus) are administered.
What is the prognosis for animals with metritis?
The prognosis for metritis patients that are spayed is very
good. The prognosis for patients with
uncomplicated metritis (no retained fetus or placenta) that are
treated medically is fair, but the
ability to produce future litters may be decreased.
The majority of the information in this page is has been taken from VetMedCenter.com. For further information about this useful source of informtion follow the link or look, on the internet, at www.vetmedcenter.com.