Metabolic Changes Due to Experimentally Induced Rupture of the Canine Urinary Bladder

Abstract

SUMMARY Surgical rupture of the urinary bladder was performed on 14 dogs to determine the diagnostic value of physical signs and laboratory tests. The average time of death after induced rupture was 65 hours in nonsurvivors (78%). Three dogs survived the experimental procedure. Clinical signs such as discomfort on abdominal palpation, vomiting, and central nervous system ( cns ) depression were apparent in less than 24 hours. Diagnostic laboratory tests identified marked changes in packed cell volume ( pcv ) and in concentrations of serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen ( bun ), and serum inorganic phosphorus which were evident during the second 24 hours. Creatinine concentration in the abdominal fluid was a useful indicator of bladder rupture. Other changes were hyponatremia and hypochloremia. Hyperkalemia did not occur until late in the induced disease, and metabolic acidosis was not seen. Temperature and ability to urinate were not reliable diagnostic aids. Radiographic examination confirmed the diagnosis in all instances; contrast cystography was more accurate than pneumocystography. Peritonitis was invariably seen at necropsy, but correlation did not exist between antemortem bacteriologic cultural examination of urine and the severity of peritonitis. Clinical diagnosis could best be made by a combination of clinical signs, radiographic examination, and creatinine content of abdominal fluid.