Piómetra or metritis

Majorities
Piómetra is an infectious disease produced by bacteria and the uterus cavity of or matrix is characterized by the presence of pus within.
He is more frequent in the dog that in the cat, usually occur in animals as of the 5 years of age, although also in younger animals, mainly if they have received estrogen therapies or progestins (contraceptive oral or injectable).
It is a disease with a hormonal predisposition, appears to 4 to 6 weeks of the fervor, since the exaggerated answer of the endometrium to the progesterone is the beginning of the disease (after the fervor when the progesterone levels are higher).

This infection produces I accumulate of pus, bacteria, woven necrosados and toxins that can be observed or no, depending on the opening of the neck of the uterus, reason why piómetra to can be:

* Opened: when purulenta by the vagina eliminates the secretion the outside.
* Closed: when the secretions are retained in the uterus.

When the neck of the matrix is open, a vaginal unloading that can be mucohemorrágico, mucous or mucopurulento takes place that is observed with facility.

In the doctor's office the literal description but of which it happens to them in most of the cases is:
- ? Doctor? my mascot this decayed, secret pus by the vagina, takes much water and it does not eat, that it has? ? -

Signs and symptoms
The symptoms, of all ways, are very variable and most frequent they are:

* decay
* anorexy (to let eat)
* hiporexia (they eat less)
* fever,
* vomits
* polidipsia (to drink much)
* poliuria (to tinkle much)
* dehydration.

Diagnosis
Some dogs arrive in shock state, due to the secondary serious complications to piómetra like: Renal insufficiency, hepáticas alterations, peritonitis and/or endotoxemias, reason why the symptomatic phantom increases.
Often it reaches with clinical history and a good exploration, but sometimes they are necessary complementary tests to confirm the diagnosis: analysis of blood (to value the number of white globules and the renal functionality), x-rays of the abdomen or ecografías, being this one the most useful and diagnosis.

Treatment
Two treatments exist to consider:

1. The surgical treatment is obtained a definitive treatment and consists of extirpating the ovaries and the uterus (ovariohisterectomía). If the operation is fast, the success possibilities are very high, nevertheless, can appear the complications before mentioned (renal insufficiency, peritonitis, endotoxemias etc?.) and the dogs to descompensar themselves and to die later during the surgery or.
2. Medical treatment, this one has to be valued with caution by the veterinarian and the proprietor, with antibiotics of ample phantom (quinolonas, estreptomicina penicillin, etc?) and prostaglandins (hormones that increase the contractions uterine). This treatment would try to maintain the capacity reproductive of the dog or is of election when the sanitary state is not the adapted one to resist a surgery, nevertheless, the results are less satisfactory, and in the case of obtaining a positive result great possibilities that piómetra exist recidive (recurrence of the problem).

Prognosis
It varies much, depending on the gravity of the process, with the surgical treatment, is good. In cases of secondary complications the prognosis will be reserved.

Useful advice

* To operate to the dogs and cats that are not desired that they have descendants.
* To use contraceptive medicines very occasionally.
* To make periodic controls of the reproductive system with its Veterinary Doctor.

 

MV Enrique L. Fernandez De Vanna
MV Adelaida A. Goldman

 

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