Abstract
Background: Bacteremia in sick foals is associated with survival, but the association of bacteremia and diarrhea is not reported. Hypothesis: Neonatal foals with diarrhea will commonly be bacteremic. Animals: One hundred and thirty-three neonatal foals. Methods: Records of all foals < 30 days of age presenting with diarrhea between January 1990 and September 2007 were reviewed. Results: Sixty-six of 133 foals (50%) were bacteremic at admission, with 75 isolates from the 66 samples. The blood culture from a further 18 foals (13.5%) grew coryneform bacteria. Nine foals (6.8%) had 2 or more organisms grown on blood culture. One foal had 5 different organisms, interpreted as contamination. Forty-eight foals (36%) had no growth on admission blood cultures. No cultures isolated fungal organisms. Excluding coryneform bacteria, 43 isolates (57%) were Gram-negative organisms and 32 isolates (43%) were Gram-positive organisms. The most common isolate was Enterococcus spp. (22 isolates, 29%), followed by Pantoea agglomerans (13 isolates, 17%). IgG concentration at admission was not associated with blood culture status. Blood culture status was not associated with survival to hospital discharge. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Bacteremia is common in neonatal foals with diarrhea. Decisions regarding antimicrobial selection should be made with these differences in mind.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1203-1209 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of veterinary internal medicine |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Colitis
- Foal
- Gram-negative bacteria
- Gram-positive bacteria
- Septicemia
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Veterinary