Recurrent and multidrug-resistant suppurative mesenteric lymphadenitis in a dog

Abstract

Suppurative mesenteric lymphadenitis is rarely described in veterinary medicine and is usually associated with other gastrointestinal or urinary tract diseases, immunosuppression, and infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to report a case of recurrent suppurative mesenteric lymphadenitis caused by coagulase-positive Staphylococcus in a 3-year-old female Shih Tzu dog, highlighting the importance of performing bacterial culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing for disease resolution. The animal was attended at the private Veterinary Hospital, in Vila Velha city, Espírito Santo, presenting clinical signs of abdominal pain in the hypogastric region, apathy, anorexia, and oligodipsia, along with a history of fever one day before and two similar episodes that were resolved with antimicrobial use. The patient had enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes and laboratory abnormalities consistent with an infectious process. Bacterial culture, following fine needle aspiration biopsy of the lymph nodes guided by ultrasound, identified the agent, and antibiotic susceptibility testing classified the bacterium as multidrug-resistant. The treatment instituted was meropenem combined with pain and fever control, leading to improvement of clinical signs, laboratory abnormalities, and disease remission. The patient did not experience recurrence, totaling 640 days of follow-up until the present time.