A multi-institutional retrospective of 140 cats undergoing perineal urethrostomy found that 37.8% experienced a complication within 90 days, but none of the variables tested predicted which cats would have problems.
What the study found
According to the study, "fifty-three of 140 cats (37.8%) experienced a complication perioperatively, immediately postoperative, or within 90 days of discharge." The most common complications the researchers documented were "hypotension (15 cats), urinary tract infection (11 cats), and urethral stricture (five cats)." The study reported that "two cats were euthanized and one died during hospitalization." The authors found that "no risk factors were identified that were statistically related to the development of complications or survival to hospital discharge."
How the study was built
Retrospective, multi-institutional study across four university teaching hospitals. The researchers collected signalment, history, clinical signs, catheter duration, reason for the PU, initial bloodwork, surgery and anesthesia times, postoperative catheter placement, and complications up to 90 days.
The number, and its error bars
The abstract reports the 37.8% complication rate and the breakdown by complication type. The finding that no risk factors were statistically related to complications means the study could not identify variables that separated cats at higher risk from those at lower risk.
What the authors say it cannot tell you
The authors conclude that "cats undergoing PU most commonly developed minor complications" and that no risk factors were identified that were associated with the development of those complications. The abstract does not state additional limitations.
Who paid for it
The abstract does not state funding source.
What this means for your practice
VeterinaryPracticeNow's read, not the study's. Everything in this section is our editorial interpretation for practice owners. The study does not claim any of it.
The complication rate reported here is the number to use when you're counseling an owner before a PU. The fact that no tested variable predicted complications means you can't stratify risk in the exam room based on the variables this study measured.
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For the associate DVM, this is useful when an owner asks whether waiting another day on the catheter changes the surgery's risk profile. For the owner-DVM, the hypotension cases are the reason your anesthesia-monitoring protocol matters, and the UTI cases are the reason a post-op recheck belongs in your protocol. The deaths and euthanasias reported are the outcome range that belongs in your consent form.