Prevalence, Characteristics, Management and Outcomes of Wounds and Surgical Procedures in Domestic Cats Presented to Selected Veterinary Clinics in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

A retrospective study was conducted on clinical records of domestic cats presented to six Veterinary Clinics in Nairobi County, Kenya over a ten year period (2007 to 2016), with the objectives of determining 1) prevalence of wounds and other surgical procedures, 2) the characteristics of wounds and 3) the management and outcomes of wounds in these cats. The lack of current published data on cats in Kenya motivated the study. Data was collected by retrieving information from archived records using case record books and catalogues in these clinics. Case record information on cat breed, gender, age, neuter status, nutritional status, diagnosis, wound type, location, cause, culture and sensitivity, treatment and outcomes was collected and recorded. Data on other surgical conditions and procedures carried out on the cats was collected and recorded. The data was given numerical codes for ease of entering them into Microsoft Excel spread sheets. The data was imported into SPSS statistical software and into GenStat 64 bit release 13.3 copyright 2010 for analysis. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done to test for association between possible risk factors and outcomes as well as association with wound characteristics. Medical records involving 2,444 cases of domestic cats were retrieved from all the 6 veterinary clinics. Percentages of occurrence various parameters and factors in the case records were also calculated. Among the cases retrieved from the six clinic records, injuries were in 9.9% (n=244) of which 61.9% (157) had soft tissue injuries, 13% (n=31) had fractures, 14.8% (n=36) had abscesses and each of the rest: laceration, puncture, avulsion, cellulitis, hematoma and bruise: were in less than 5..........................