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Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections


Sharon A. Center
ANTIBACTERIAL DEFENSE
Bacteriologic studies of portal vein blood of the mature dog have shown that alimentary flora commonly circulates
to the liver.
22,24
Although unproven, the suspicion is that this activity also occurs in the cat. Enteric organisms
delivered to the liver in the healthy animal are extracted by the hepatic Kupffer cells and either killed or excreted
in bile. Liver disorders associated with ischemic injury, impaired hepatic artery perfusion, reduced macrophage
function, and cholestasis can be complicated by infections derived from this normal enteric flora.
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SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INFECTION
Given the dual blood supply and strategic location of the liver, its exposure to substances derived from the
splanchnic and systemic circulations is considerable (e.g., gut-derived par-ticulate debris, toxins, microorganisms,
immunoreactive substances). The hepatic Kupffer cells (hepatobiliary macrophages) play an essential role in the
innate immune response to bacteria and their by-products entering from the portal system. These cells also protect
against systemic bacteremia by cleansing blood delivered through the hepatic artery. Hepatoprotection against
systemic toxicity and infections can become compromised when the liver is injured in a variety of ways. The
integrity of the hepatic reticuloendothelial system (RES), which influences systemic susceptibility to enteric
bacterial translocation (i.e., is associated with hemorrhagic and endotoxic shock, trauma, and bowel ischemia), is
compromised in chronic liver disease, portal hypertension, portosystemic shunting, and cholestasis.
120

Consequently, patients with liver disease have increased risk for hepatic infection with or without polysystemic
complications. In addition, the expansive sinusoidal endothelium of the liver provides a site for invasion by
vasculotropic organisms.
Substantial host-dependent differences exist in hepatic clearance of blood-borne particulates. In dogs, 60% to 90%
of hematogenously borne bacteria and particulates are removed by the liver and spleen, giving them an inherent
propensity for hepatobiliary infections.
40,180
Comparatively, the cat appears to target pulmonary macrophages
preferentially. Failure of hepatic Kupffer cells to function properly can shift the burden of RES function to other
organs, such as the spleen, lungs, and lymph nodes, as has been shown in dogs with chronic liver disease
associated with acquired portosystemic shunting and in dogs with congenital portosystemic vascular anomalies
(PSVA).
78,95
Humans with cirrhosis have an increased incidence of bacterial infections; similar data is unavailable
for the dog and cat. Current belief asserts that the predominant perfusion of hepatic sinusoids with portal venous
blood, a low-flow low-pressure system, rather than arterial blood, facilitates efficient bacterial removal by the RES
because slower flow permits greater opportunity for phagocytosis.
85,140
Given that hepatic arterial perfusion
compensatively increases when portal flow is compromised (for example, chronic liver disease with portal
hypertension and portosystemic shunting or PSVA or hepatofugal circulation), change in sinusoidal blood flow
may thwart efficient phagocytosis.
ENDOTOXIN
Endotoxin, or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), is derived from enteric microorganisms and is a normal constituent in
portal venous blood. These glycolipids represent a portion of the outer bacterial cell membrane of gram-negative
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bacteria and are largely derived from organisms colonizing the colon.
162
Normally, hepatic Kupffer cells
efficiently clear endotoxin such that the liver attenuates systemic exposure. Endotoxin extraction is enabled by
high-affinity LPS receptors on Kupffer cells and LPS-binding glycoproteins on hepatocytes that facilitate transfer
to Kupffer cell receptors. On exposure to endotoxin, Kupffer cell activation initiates a series of signals eventuating
in production of proinflammatory cytokines. Consequently, increased hepatic exposure to endotoxin can
exacerbate ongoing liver injury and produce changes in liver enzymes reflecting inflammation.
Certain changes in liver function or perfusion can increase hepatic and systemic exposure to endotoxin. In fact,
endotoxemia in the absence of overt sepsis is a common finding in cirrhotic humans. Although higher levels of
endotoxemia are associated with hepatic failure, hepatic encephalopathy, and death, it is unclear whether
detectable systemic endotoxin levels reflect normal exposure left unchecked by the dysfunctional liver, relevant
systemic abnormalities, increased enteric uptake (i.e., enhanced enteric endotoxin translocation), or if they play a
causal role in liver disease or merely represent an epiphenomenon. Because enteric bile acids bind and inactivate
endotoxin, patients with extrahepatic bile duct occlusion (EHBDO) or severe cholestasis having impaired
enterohepatic bile acid circulation may experience increased enteric endotoxin uptake and hepatic exposure.
155

Dogs with experimentally induced chronic liver disease (chronic administration of dimethylnitrosamine) with
acquired portosystemic shunts develop measurable portal, hepatic, and caudal vena caval venous endotoxemia.
79

Dogs with PSVA (n = 10), medically stable at the time of laparotomy for vascular ligation, also had detectible
endotoxemia in portal and peripheral venous samples (mean SD, 28.0 16.9 versus 19.6 7.0; median [range],
20 [12 to 40] versus 17 [8 to 30]). In the PSVA dogs, shunt ligation attenuated peripheral endotoxemia at
postoperative sampling (at 5 to 13 months).
135
Small patient numbers precluded achieving significant differences
(p = 0.06, six dogs studied postoperatively). These observations in clinically relevant conditions suggest that
systemic endotoxemia is a real phenomenon in dogs and, by inference, suggest increased systemic exposure to
enteric microbes and their by-products in the circumstance of hepatofugal circulation. However, systemic response
to endotoxemia, the presence of bacteremia, or evidence of altered oxygen utilization in portal blood have not
been shown in dogs with PSVA.
169
ROLE OF KUPFFER CELLS
Hepatic Kupffer cells comprise the largest compartment of tissue macrophages in the body, representing 80% to
90% of the total fixed macrophages and approximately 35% of the nonparenchymal liver cells.
70
Residing mainly
within the lumen of the hepatic sinusoids and adherent to endothelial cells by long cytoplasmic processes, Kupffer
cells are most numerous in the periportal area where they offer first-line defense against bacteria, endotoxin, and
microbial debris entering from the alimentary canal.
57
Kupffer cells possess both F
C
and C
3
receptors and
phagocytize a wide variety of opsonized and nonopsonized particulates.
100
Similar to other mononuclear
phagocytes, Kupffer cells also have the capacity to function as antigen-presenting cells, for induction of T
lymphocytes, and on activation, can release superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, hydrolytic
enzymes, and eicosanoids (prostaglandins and leukotrienes), which can aid in antigen destruction. They also
release a large number of different immunoregulatory and inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1,
IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, platelet-activating factor, transforming growth factor- (TGF-), and
interferon (IFN)-. A heterogenous population of Kupffer cells resides in different lobular zones. Cells associated
with the portal triad (zone 1) are larger, more phagocytic, and generate greater amounts of TNF-, IL-1,
prostaglandin E, and lysosomal enzymes. Smaller cells are associated with zone 3 where more nitric oxide and
superoxide are produced; these exhibit greater cytotoxic activity to certain stimuli and are more easily activated.
52

Nitric oxide released by Kupffer cells mediates a wide variety of physiologic events, including (but not restricted
to) vasodilation, neutrophil chemotaxis, and adhesion of neutrophils to vascular endothelium in response to
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bacteria or endotoxin.
70
As potent inducers of inflammatory cytokines, Kupffer cells are implicated in the
pathologic events leading to liver injury.
162
Inflammatory mediator release from Kupffer cells is enhanced after
priming by endotoxin exposure in reactive hepatobiliary processes. Later, during the course of infection, other
cells including hepatocytes, T lymphocytes, and immigrating phagocytes (monocytes and neutrophils) contribute
cytokines to the inflammatory process. Certain bacteria undergo initial physical attachment to Kupffer cell surface
receptors (macrophage scavenger receptors) and are subsequently cleared from the sinusoidal circulation. These
receptors have a high affinity for a broad range of polyanionic ligands, including lipoteichoic acid, a component of
gram-positive bacteria.
52,131
However, some organisms are not efficiently cleared by Kupffer cells (e.g.,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Morganella morganii, and Serratia marcescens) caused by cell surface composition or
increased hydrophobicity, or both.
69
ROLE OF NEUTROPHILS
Routine, uneventful removal of bacteria, endotoxin, and particulate and antigenic debris acquired from the portal
venous circulation occurs in part in collaboration with infiltrating neutrophils. Immigrating neutrophils contribute
an early bactericidal influence important for bacterial pathogen clearance.
69
While providing this ancillary
defensive role, neutrophil participation also may impart self-injury. Neutrophil accumulation in hepatic sinusoids,
a distinguishing feature of endotoxemia and sepsis, fosters the production, release, and accumulation of toxic
metabolic products and degradative enzymes (reactive oxygen intermediates and proteolytic enzymes) from
themselves, as well as from neighboring Kupffer cells. This involvement of neutrophils in response to endotoxin
exposure confuses histologic interpretation of hepatobiliary lesions, erroneously suggesting in some cases the
actual presence of an infectious organism. This response may contribute to the lesion characterized as reactive
hepatitis, commonly described in liver biopsies from veterinary patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Neutrophil associated tissue injury is normally limited by neutrophil apoptosis and phagocytosis by hepatic
Kupffer cells on infection control or toxin elimination. Dysregulation of these mechanisms can propagate chronic
liver injury and inflammation.
BILE: PROTECTION FROM INFECTION
Hepatobiliary production of bile and IgA contribute importantly to the health of the biliary and gastrointestinal
(GI) systems. Secretory IgA (S-IgA) is the major immunoglobulin in bile; IgG and IgM are present in much
smaller amounts. IgA binds to a secretory component, made in the liver, forming an S-IgA complex, which assists
in maintaining mucosal integrity by binding infectious agents (e.g., bacteria, viruses). Bile and IgA both influence
enteric bacterial populations (type, number of organisms, and enterocyte adherence). Normal physiologic
choleresis (bile flow) routinely cleanses biliary pathways. The normal biliary-entero-bacterial cycle permits rapid
elimination of bacteria achieving entrance to the biliary tree, and local IgA production protects against epithelial
invasion.
20,154
Bile salts contribute an antibacterial influence synergistic with IgA binding, limiting enteric and
biliary bacterial translocation. Normally, tight junctions between hepatocytes resist bacterial entry into canalicular
bile. Along with the high competence of the extrahepatic biliary structures, normal pressure differentials in the
biliary system limit retrograde access of enteric organisms to the hepatobiliary system. However, development of
EHBDO or substantial cholestasis of any cause can interrupt these mechanisms, increasing host susceptibility to
infection.
154
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BACTERIAL FLORA OF THE HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM
The sterility of the portal venous circulation, hepatic tissue, and bile in health has been investigated for more than
50 years. Although older studies suggest that liver tissue is commonly contaminated, especially with Clostridium
spp., more recent work is contradictive.
38,49
In the absence of biliary tree obstruction or choleliths, gallbladder and
bile are now thought to be normally sterile.
155
Improved methods of collecting samples (reducing
cross-contamination) has been suggested to explain disparate observations.
Normally, enteric organisms delivered to the liver are extracted and killed by neutrophils and hepatic Kupffer
cells. Remaining organisms are thought to be excreted in bile. Clearly, even in normal animals, portal venous
translocation of large bacterial inocula result in hepatic sinusoidal bacterial exposure and bacterobilia.
162
In the
diseased liver (e.g., perfusion abnormalities, impaired macrophage function, cholestasis), survival of infectious
agents may be permissively affected by loss of normal protective mechanisms already discussed.
20
Consequently,
diseases of the biliary tract and liver may be complicated by the presence of pathogenic bacteria (in bile
[bacteriobilia] or liver tissue) as a secondary phenomenon. Positive bacterial culture results from liver tissue and
bile from animals with chronic liver disease in the author's hospital supports this contention.
CIRCUMSTANCES INCREASING THE RISK OF HEPATOBILIARY INFECTION
The liver plays a key role in providing protective responses during gram-negative sepsis. Consequently, a variety
of liver diseases place the host at increased risk for infection. Enhanced pathogenicity of gram-negative sepsis has
been demonstrated in experimental cirrhosis in animal models.
77
An important point to acknowledge is that
bacterial organisms commonly found in bile, gallbladder, or liver tissue, in disease, are nearly always enteric in
origin. Greatest risks for infection and postoperative sepsis exist for EHBDO and chronic liver disease associated
with portal hypertension, compromised hepatic perfusion or Kupffer cell function, or both, and conditions
promoting enteric bacterial translocation.
Along with reduced mechanical cleansing of the biliary tree, impaired biliary IgA production or delivery,
enhanced translocation of gut flora into the splanchnic circulation, impaired Kupffer cell activation and
phagocytosis, reduced humoral immunity, compromised neutrophil rolling, migration, or adherence in
hypertensive splanchnic vasculature (but not in hepatic sinusoids), disruption of tight junctions between
hepatocytes, and increased access to hepatic lymph, each facilitate infection.* Cholestasis also imposes an
immunosuppressive effect by reducing in vitro lymphocyte transformation testing. This activity relates to high
plasma, tissue, and bile concentrations of dihydroxy bile acids.
155
* References: 47, 88, 133, 138, 139, 141, 143, 165, 167, 172, 174.
INFLUENCE OF CHOLESTASIS ON HEPATOBILIARY INFECTIONS
Any disorder invoking cholestasis can compromise protective mechanisms normally derived from bile and normal
choleresis. EHBDO provokes numerous changes facilitating hepatobiliary and systemic bacterial infection.
Animal models of EHBDO, including dogs and cats, convincingly demonstrate that impaired enteric bile flow
favors small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and enteric-bacterial translocation.
34
Cessation of enteric bile
delivery (bile salts and s-IgAs) curtails the normally suppressive influence of bile salts on the endogenous
bacterial population and s-IgA on bacterial mucosal adherence. Defective RES function, altered sinusoidal fenestra
in the area of the peribiliary plexus (permitting greater access to bacterial organisms), reduced enteric mucosal
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integrity, and impaired endotoxin clearance or inactivation augment the opportunity for enteric bacterial and
endotoxin translocation to mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, and the systemic circulation. Given that the liver is
metabolically compromised in cholestasis and the RES dysfunctional, a heightened risk of hepatobiliary infection
is achieved. In this circumstance, development of cholangitis by any route (ascending, hematogenous, or
lymphatic) is favored.
155
Inadequate RES function and liberalized portal bacteremia increases the risk for systemic
bacteremia and endotoxemia.
128
Although biliary decompression ameliorates jaundice, chronic damage to the
biliary tree causing functional changes reverse slowly, and certain functionality is never fully restored. Immune
dysfunction in cholestatic liver injury derives from inadequate or inappropriate antigen processing by the RES,
cytokine production by Kupffer cells, or abnormal Kupffer-hepatocyte interactions. Chronic down regulation of
Kupffer cell vigilance against endotoxin increases risk for endotoxemia during episodes of heightened exposure
(e.g., hemorrhagic gastroenteritis). Hepatofugal portal circulation reduces hepatic delivery and extraction of
substances in the portal splanchnic vasculature, causing increased systemic exposure to immune complexes,
enteric bacteria, and antigens. Impaired bacterial opsonization reduces appropriate macrophage bacterial clearance
and heightens risk of infection. Dysregulation of inflammatory cascades, crucial to wound healing, may increase
postoperative complications, including wound dehiscence and infections that compromise surgical recovery.
155
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Table 90-1 Organisms Associated with Suppurative or Pyogranulomatous
Hepatobiliary Inflammation and Abscesses in Dogs and Cats
a
Aerobic Cultures (Positive Cultures: n = 108)
Anaerobic Cultures (Positive Cultures: n = 49)
a
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n = 5 each
a
Escherichia coli
Streptococcus group D enterococci
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus intermedius
Enterococcus
Staphylococcus epidermidis
Enterobacter aerogenes
Streptococcus -hemolytic
n = 3 or 4 each
a
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Enterobacter agglomerans
Citrobacter freundii
n = 2 each
a
Acinetobacter calcoacetius
Pasteurella multocida
Pseudomonas fluorescens
Nocardia
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Bacillus spp.
Serratia marcesens
n = 1 each
a
hemolytic
Streptococcus
Bordetella bronchiseptica
Campylobacter jejuni
Candida sp.
Enterococcus hermanniensis
Lactobacillus sp.
n = =6 each
a
Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium sp.
Propionibacterium acnes
Bacteroides melaninogenicus
n = 3 each
a
Actinomyces
Peptostreptococcus
n = 1 each
a
Corynebacterium spp.
Fusobacterium
Anaerobic streptococci
Bacillus
Additional Microbes Reported Elsewhere (Case Reports)
Bacillus piliformis
Francisella tularensis
Listeria monocytogenes
Eugenic fermenter-4 bacilli(/L1)
Other noncultured infectious agents proven based on
antibody titers, histopathology, or molecular testing (or
any combination) and response to treatment)
Leptospira serovars
a
Borreliaburgdorferi
a
Ehrlichia sp.
a
Rickettsia rickettsii
a
Toxoplasma
a
Babesia sp.
Trematodes (cats)
a
(/L1)
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Moraxella phenylpyruvica
Morganella morgani
Proteus sp.
Pseudomonas fluorescens
Salmonella
a In order from most to least common. Data acquired from case records, 19852001, Companion Animal
Hospital, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Experimental models have clarified the significance of enteric portal bacteremia. Infusion of 10
5
to 10
7
bacteria
into the splenic vein of normal cats results in a significant reduction in bile flow and the appearance of bacteria in
bile within 30 minutes. However, in the presence of EHBDO, modest bacterial inocula (10
3
) cause bacterobilia
within the same time frame. Bacteria enter sinusoidal blood where some are phagocytized (Kupffer cells and
neutrophils), but ultimately, viable organisms enter bile.
167
Although mechanical obstruction of the biliary tree
clearly augments bacteriobilia, also apparent is that any cause of cholestasis may impart this influence. Given that
hematogenously dispersed gram-negative organisms impart a cholestatic response in both dogs and cats, this
activity likely augments their risk for hepatic infection. This phenomenon may explain why bacterial organisms
are unexpectedly cultured from liver tissue and bile in animals with illnesses thought not to be primarily bacterial
in origin (Table 90-1).
TRANSMURAL PASSAGE OF ENTERIC ORGANISMS
The idea that translocation of bacteria and endotoxin from the GI tract may initiate or exacerbate infection has
been increasingly accepted as the so-called gut hypothesis of sepsis and multiple organ failure.
45
Increased
vulnerability of the jaundiced host to gut-barrier breakdown and bacterial translocation has been confirmed by
many experimental studies and is strongly supported by clinical observations in veterinary patients. Diseases
involving the biliary tract especially thwart protective mechanisms, leading to bacteriobilia.
164
Study of dogs undergoing routine ovariohysterectomy proves that enteric bacterial translocation occurs even in
normal dogs.
37
In this study, bacteria was verified in 52% of 26 dogs by positive results of culture of a single
mesenteric lymph node; the number of bacteria cultured varied from 50 to 10
5
organism/g of tissue. Organisms
isolated, in decreasing prevalence, were Escherichia coli (n = 6), Bacillus (n = 5), nonhemolytic Streptococcus (n
= 4), Salmonella (n = 3), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (n = 2), Enterococcus (n = 2), and one each with
Staphylococcus intermedius, Clostridium sordelli, Micrococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Lactobacillus spp., and
Propionibacterium acnes. However, no bacteria were isolated from a single portal blood specimen.
42
Translocated enteric bacteria and endotoxin invoke Kupffer cytokine secretion, neutrophil chemotaxis, vascular
adhesion, and degranulation, as well as proinflammatory changes in sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatic
stellate cells (the source of connective tissue in chronic liver disease), leading to fibrosis. Tissue injury derives
from products of activated Kupffer cells and neutrophils, including reactive oxygen species, cytokines, and
proteases, along with reactions involving complement and coagulation system activation. Gut-derived bacteria or
endotoxin may provoke development of the sepsis syndrome in the absence of clinically proven microbiologic
infection. Although compromised gut-barrier function is believed to be relevant to sepsis in the jaundiced patient,
correlation of plasma endotoxin concentrations with morbidity and immunosuppression is inconsistent and quite
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variable as a result of differences in regional blood sample collection, methods employed to detect endotoxin,
units of expression, and inconsistent use of endotoxin standards and expression units.
67,138
Enteric translocation of bacteria and subsequent hepatobiliary invasion is enhanced in the presence of (1) bowel
disease (direct mucosal injury), (2) altered gut flora with gram-negative microbial overgrowth (SIBO), (3) portal
hypertension, (4) splanchnic hypoperfusion, (5) hepatofugal portal circulation, proven in dogs with acquired and
congenital portal shunting, (6) local or systemic immunosuppression, including impaired macrophage function, (7)
altered gut motility (slow transit time documented in cirrhosis), and (8) absence of enteric bile (bile acids, IgA,
mechanical cleansing function of bile in the biliary tree). In human and animal models with chronic liver disease,
reduced enteric transit rate has been shown to increase the risk of SIBO and enteric bacterial translocation.
134

Contributing factors include portal hypertension, acquired varices, gastroduodenal vascular ectasia associated with
portal hypertensive gastroenteropathy, and oxidative damage in the bowel (with or without coexistent
IBD).
30,151,182
An increased propensity for enteric translocation of bacteria in EHBDO has been proven in dogs
and cats.
29,167
The clinical impact of cholestasis on enteric translocation is exemplified in humans in whom
postoperative infectious complications following EHBDO decompression are reduced by preoperative internal
biliary drainage.
106,175
BACTERIOBILIA
Bacteriobilia may be clinically silent until biliary obstruction leads to systemic sepsis by biliary-venous reflux.
Increased pressure in the biliary system (at least 25 cm water), causing retrograde flow of bile (regurgitation) into
hepatic sinusoids is a proven prerequisite for infection. The importance of mechanical disruption of bile flow is
well exemplified by the long-term follow-up of humans with choledochoduodenostomy in which retrograde
invasion of the biliary tree by bacteria is the rule. These patients do not develop septic cholangitis as long as
mechanical obstruction to bile flow is avoided. Furthermore, clinical and experimental evidence suggests that
infection is most likely when obstruction is incomplete or intermittent and is seemingly potentiated by the
presence of a foreign body such as a cholelith.
48
Once enteric organisms gain access to bile, they may dehydroxylate and deconjugate bile acids, generating
membranocytolytic forms (e.g., chenodeoxycholate yielding lithocholate) capable of provoking cholestasis,
oxidant cell injury, immunotargeting of biliary epithelium or hepatocytes, and cell death by cytolytic necrosis or
apoptosis. This activity is thought to greatly facilitate tissue injury in cats with cholangiohepatitis.
Unfortunately, the bacterial flora in bile is not accurately represented by detection of systemic bacteremia or
urinary tract organisms. Anaerobic bacteria are infrequently found in blood, as compared with bile, and E. coli is
found far more commonly in bile. Consequently, no easy and practical screening method exists for detecting
bacteriobilia. Despite many experimental studies of bacterial translocation that show compelling evidence
supporting this infectious pathomechanism, exactly which clinical patients besides those with EHBDO have
greatest risk has not been clearly defined in either human or veterinary patients.
Cytologic evaluation of bile with a Wright-Giemsa's stain discloses a rich blue amorphous material. Identification
of multilobular nuclear remnants (released from degenerating neutrophils) may be the only evidence of
inflammation. However, with sepsis, bacterial organisms are commonly seen, sometimes in the absence of
well-defined inflammatory cells.
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RISKS INCREASING POSTOPERATIVE SEPSIS
Given that mechanical resolution of EHBDO allows acute mobilization of sequestered bacteria, a sudden
appearance of bacteria in bile is realized. Failure to provide adequate antibiotic coverage during this transition
increases risk of postoperative infection and sepsis in patients with biliary tree infection and EHBDO undergoing
surgical investigation and correction. An important point to remember is that surgical trauma augments the risk
imposed by reduced gut-barrier function in patients with cholestasis or severe hepatobiliary dysfunction.
46,132

Presurgical internal drainage of the biliary tree in humans with EHBDO has been shown to reduce postoperative
septic complications. Modifying the enteric microbial population with antibiotics (e.g., fluoroquinolones,
neomycin, tobramycin) or using certain probiotics (Lactobacilli combined with antioxidants) also has reduced
septic complications in humans and animal models with cholestatic liver disease. Treatment of cirrhotic humans
with ciprofloxacin reduces spontaneous bacterial infections with enteric organisms.
142
Restoration of
biliary-enteric communication improves RES function and restores protective mechanisms lost to cholestasis,
reducing the risk of systemic and biliary tree infection.
155
INNOCENT BYSTANDER EFFECTS ON THE HEPATOBILIARY SYSTEM
Despite the immense potential for exposure of the liver to infectious organisms, increased liver enzyme activity
and hepatic dysfunction in infectious disease more commonly reflect secondary effects of systemic infection rather
than specific hepatic involvement.
116,123
Pyrexia, anoxia, nutritional deficits, released toxins, and inflammatory
mediators each contribute to clinicopathologic abnormalities. Innocent bystander injury from pathologic
conditions initiated elsewhere in the body can lead to inappropriate diagnostic emphasis on the hepatobiliary
system. Occasionally, a self-perpetuating form of chronic active hepatitis may develop as a complication of
infection with bacterial or viral agents. Examples include chronic hepatitis in dogs after infection with
leptospirosis or canine adenovirus-1.
13,64
An emerging role of Helicobacter spp. in humans with cholestatic liver
disease, cholecystitis, and neoplasia of the biliary tree suggests that a relationship may also exist between this
organism and liver disease.
58,102,121
Isolation of Helicobacter canis from a single dog with multifocal necrotizing
hepatitis has been reported; organisms were observed using a silver stain at the periphery of necrotizing lesions.
59

Bacteria were concentrated between adjacent hepatocytes in bile canaliculi and observed in the lumen of bile
ducts. Organisms were cultured and phenotypically and molecularly identified as being different from H. canis.
Detection of Helicobacter DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplicon sequencing from archived
formalin-fixed liver tissue from 2 out of 29 cats with cholangiohepatitis and a cat with PSVA included in a control
group was reported in a scientific abstract.
71
Based on comparisons to published sequence homology, H.
nemestrinaeH. pylori and a combination of H. nemestrinaeH. pylori, and H. felisH. cinaedii in the two cats
with cholangiohepatits and H. bilis in the PSVA cat were identified. In no case were organisms identified by silver
stains or immunocytochemistry.
SYSTEMIC INFECTIONS
Sepsis and Endotoxemia
Hepatic dysfunction and cholestatic liver injury have been documented in people and in numerous animal
models as a result of systemic bacterial infection and endotoxemia.
49
Intrahepatic cholestasis induced by severe
extrahepatic bacterial infection has been experimentally modeled in dogs and cats and observed clinically in
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these species.
167,171
Response of the liver to systemic infection has been studied in dogs experimentally infused
with endotoxin or live gram-negative bacteria, or both.
55,72-74
Acute morphologic changes include dilation and
congestion of sinusoids and hepatic veins, central (zone 3) and midzonal (zone 2) hepatocellular necrosis, fatty
or vacuolar degeneration (not glycogen associated), acute diffuse influx of inflammatory cells (neutrophils and
monocytes), and microabscess formation. Kupffer cell hyperplasia is occasionally described, and canalicular
stasis (microscopically evident bile plugs) has also been described with chronicity. Considerable
hepatocellular dysfunction can cause a shift to anaerobic metabolism, impair gluconeogenesis, and mobilize
lipid from adipose stores. In dogs, acutely increased serum triglyceride, nonesterified fatty acids, and
cholesterol concentrations reflect a metabolic shift to fatty acid oxidation.
72
If this activity also occurs in cats,
peripheral fat mobilization might augment development of hepatic lipidosis. In fatty liver modeled in the
choline-deficient rat, impaired RES function increases host susceptibility to endotoxemia.
122
Although it is not
known if this is also true in cats with hepatic lipidosis, the common occurrence of a more primary disease
causing anorexia and subsequently the lipidosis syndrome warrants consideration that IBD or constipation
might potentiate endotoxemia in these patients.
Logically, animals with compromised liver function or cholestasis experiencing gastroenteric hemorrhage have
an increased risk for endotoxemia, as is shown in humans. These patients should be treated with broad-spectrum
antimicrobials appropriate for enteric opportunists. Unfortunately, a risk exists that aggressive antimicrobial
treatment for gram-negative organisms may intensify endotoxin release and related clinical signs (as suggested
by some in vitro and in vivo work). This risk relates to the type of antibiotic action and whether the microbial
cell wall remains intact.
41,81,83
For -lactam antibiotics, endotoxin-enhancing properties relate to the affinity of
the penicillin-binding proteins (PBP) in the bacterial cell wall. Antibiotics with highest affinity for these
proteins (PBP-2) initiate bacterial transformation to rounded spheroplast forms without cell lysis or endotoxin
release. Antibiotics with highest affinity for the penicillin-binding proteins (PBP-3) convert bacteria to
long-filament forms, with substantial endotoxin release. Antibiotics with high affinity for both receptors have
an intermediate effect. In addition to endotoxin-induced hepatic injury, patients with obstructive jaundice,
cirrhosis, or following extensive hepatic mass excision have greater susceptibility to endotoxemia caused by
impaired Kupffer cell function and hepatic perfusion and greater enteric microbial translocation.
Tick-Borne Diseases
Ticks transmit a variety of organisms, including protozoal, bacterial, and rickettsial organisms. The most
common agents encountered in dogs that may have clinical evidence of liver involvement (increased liver
enzymes and less consistently hyperbilirubinemia) include Ehrlichia sp., Rickettsia rickettsii and Borrelia.
Pathomechanisms of rickettsial agents easily explain their apparent hepatic involvement in systemic
infection because these organisms may infect either hepatocytes or endothelial cells. Considering the
extensive endothelial network in the liver, organisms with endothelial tropism may involve the liver as an
innocent bystander. In humans, hepatic involvement in ehrlichial infection occurs in over 80% of patients
causing mild transient increases in transaminase activity.
51
Rarely, cholestasis and liver failure may occur,
but in most cases, signs of liver injury resolve with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. A similar phenomenon
may also occur in dogs. Liver injury is related to proliferation of organisms in hepatocytes and by
stimulation of immunologic and nonspecific inflammatory mechanisms. In humans, lesions vary from focal
hepatic necrosis to granulomas and cholestatic hepatitis associated with a mixed portal infiltrate, sinusoidal
lymphoid cell infiltrate, and reactive Kupffer cells.
51,118
Vasculotropic Rickettsia such as the organism
causing Rocky Mountain spotted fever can involve hepatic endothelium, leading to mild or moderate
increases in hepatic transaminase activity, hepatocellular apoptosis, and less commonly, cholestasis. In
917
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humans, cholestasis often reflects pancreatic infection and vasculitis, leading to common bile duct
entrapment.
178,181
Hemolysis also may contribute to hyperbilirubinemia.
181
Similar effects likely occur in
dogs but have not been well characterized. Systemic borrelial infections in humans, early in the course of
disease, can also be associated with clinical evidence of hepatic infection (high liver enzyme activity). In
dogs, this association has also been observed clinically and confirmed by liver biopsy in two ill dogs (several
weeks of illness) observed by the author. Histologic lesions were consistent with lobular dissecting hepatitis
in one dog and a mixed multifocal inflammatory reaction causing focal pyogranulomas in the other.
Experimental work with Borrelia suggests that organisms are rapidly extracted by Kupffer cells following
systemic dispersal and killed by nonopsonic phagocytosis (in vivo and in vitro).
144
Considering the
complicated immunopathogenesis of Borrelia infections, aberrant immune response, humoral immune
activity, cytokines, and cell-mediated immune events likely invoke liver injury.
80
Experimental work with
the Borrelia suggests direct hepatic invasion by the spirochete in conjunction with cellular and humoral
immunologic mechanisms.
181
Leptospirosis
During the last 15 years, retrospective clinical reports of leptospirosis in dogs in North America and
additional reports from other continents have been published, owing to increased disease recognition and
diagnostic surveillance (see Chapter 44). A retrospective report of cases managed in the author's hospital
documented hepatic involvement in 22 out of 36 (61%) dogs based on increased liver enzyme activity.
12

Approximately 17% became hyperbilirubinemic, although some of these dogs had evidence of
microangiopathic anemia as a complicating factor. Increased serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was
most common (60% of dogs with high liver enzymes) and was evident either on initial blood work or
developed after initiation of treatment (antimicrobial therapy). High transaminase activity in some dogs
reflected muscle injury, substantiated by concurrently high creatine kinase activity. Rise in liver enzyme
activities and evidence of cholestasis during the first week of treatment is thought to reflect hepatocellular or
vascular injury derived from released bacterial toxins or immunologic responses. An association between
infection with L. pomona and high liver enzymes has been appreciated. Other retrospective and experimental
studies of leptospiral infection in dogs confirm that increased ALP activity is the most common indicator of
hepatic involvement.* Evidence of liver injury in the absence of renal involvement seems uncommon but
may occur. Hepatic lesions in a small number of necropsied dogs were characterized by marked hepatic
venous and sinusoidal congestion, severe perivenous edema, and a predominantly neutrophilic multifocal
inflammatory reaction. Association between leptospiral infection and chronic hepatitis also has been
recognized.
13
* References: 12, 76, 86, 89, 137.
Clinical Findings of Hepatobiliary Involvement in Infectious Disorders
Hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, fever, icterus, and lethargy are common clinical signs. The hemogram may
depict a leukopenia, degenerative left shift, and nonregenerative anemia. Markers of an acute phase response
including hyperglobulinemia and hyperfibrinogenemia, a negative acute phase response of
hypoalbuminemia, and hypoglycemia may develop rapidly. These changes are accompanied by variable
increases in the serum activity of liver enzymes, notably alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate
aminotransferase (AST). In the dog, ALP activity consistently increases after several days, and
hyperbilirubinemia occurs in dogs and cats after 36 to 48 hours. Certain bacterial organisms can directly
induce jaundice without causing substantial hepatic injury; however, generally, the development of jaundice
917
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portends a poorer prognosis. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), acute renal failure, and
myocardial dysfunction may develop in terminal cases.
Therapy
The cornerstone of treatment is the provision of adequate fluid therapy, including colloids, parenteral
antibiotics effective against involved organisms, glucose supplementation in the event of hypoglycemia
caused by the sepsis syndrome or hepatic failure, and identification and correction of associated conditions
(see Endotoxemia, Chapter 38). Widespread interest in and documentation shows that oxidant and
perioxidative injury is an important pathomechanism in necroinflammatory. Cholestatic liver disease, as well
as in infectious disease, and the recent documentation of antioxidant depletion in companion animals with
spontaneous liver diseases warrant provision of adequate nutritional and vitamin support and antioxidant
supplementation.
28
Maintaining a positive nitrogen balance is important for cell repair and hepatic
regeneration. Antioxidant supplementation in the form of thiol donors, that is, nutritionally as cystine,
cysteine, or methionine or by supplementation with N-acetylcysteine or S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe),
along with -tocopherol (vitamin E) for biomembrane protection, is recommended.
28
SPECIFIC HEPATOBILIARY INFECTIONS
Bacterial infections restricted to the hepatobiliary system are relatively uncommon. These infections may assume
the form of multifocal microabscess formation, diffuse suppurative cholangitis-cholangiohepatitis, cholecystitis,
choledochitis, ill-defined hepatic inflammation (as is the case in chronic hepatitis), or they may be associated with
discrete, focal suppuration, and necrosis involving large abscesses. Conditions predisposing the patient to
hepatobiliary infections are summarized in Table 90-2.
Pyogenic Abscess
Unifocal pyogenic hepatic abscesses are rare but may develop consequent to a significant number of disorders
(see Table 90-2).* Most common causes include trauma, extension of sepsis from adjacent viscera or the
peritoneal cavity, hematogenous distribution, ascending biliary tract infection, or ischemia associated with liver
lobe torsion or a neoplastic mass that has outgrown its blood supply. In humans, dental infection is an important
occult cause commonly overlooked; this also may be true in animals. Patients with solitary abscesses may have
no discernible underlying or predisposing condition, whereas those with multiple abscesses usually have some
other disease in the abdominal cavity or disorder producing bacteremia. Because of the dynamics of the portal
circulation delivering splanchnic blood first to the right liver lobes, focal abscess formation is most common on
that side in humans. Despite observation that portal blood also first disseminates here in dogs, lateralization to
the right side does not appear to occur in this species. Lethal hepatic abscesses derived from omphalogenic
infections have been reported in neonates in which Staphylococcus appears to be the most common isolate.
75
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Table 90-2 Conditions Predisposing to Hepatobiliary Infections
a
Obstructed Bile Flow
Extrahepatic bile duct occlusion
Disease of the gall bladder:
Dysmotility
Cholelithiasis
Cystic duct occlusion
Cholecystic neoplasia
Parenchymal cholestasis
Destruction of intrahepatic bile ducts: ductopenia (e.g., certain cats with chronic cholangitis,
cholangiohepatitis)
Microcholelithiasis (intrahepatic bile ducts)
Pancreatitis
Impaired Hepatic Perfusion +/- Oxidant Injury
Chronic necroinflammatory liver disease: chronic hepatitis, chronic cholangiohepatitis
Cirrhosis
Copper storage hepatopathy
Acquired portosystemic shunting
Congenital portosystemic shunting
Liver lobe torsion
CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 14 of 47
Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
Hepatic neoplasia
Primary: development of a necrotic center
Hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatoma
Metastatic:
Lymphosarcoma, adenocarcinoma, malignant histiocytosis
Portal venous thrombosis
Pancreatitis
Trauma: automobile accident, bite wounds, penetrating wounds
Compromised Immunocompetence
Hyperadrenocorticism
Diabetes mellitus
Severe hypothyroidism
FIV, FeLV infection
Treatment with immunomodulatory drugs: glucocorticoids, azathioprine, methotrexate, chemotherapy
Amyloidosis
Increased Translocation of Enteric Organisms
Inflammatory bowel disease
Enteric neoplasia: lymphosarcoma, adenocarcinoma
Chronic liver disease
Extrahepatic bile duct occlusion
CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 15 of 47
Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
Reduced bowel motility
Pancreatitis
Neonatal
Omphalitis
Visceral larval migrans
Toxocara
Iatrogenic
Extension from a feeding device
Surgical infection
FIV, Feline immunodeficiency virus; FeLV, feline leukemia virus.
a Disorders in dogs and cats with culture positive hepatobiliary infections.
In most cases, hepatic abscesses are linked to portal bacteremia or extension from biliary tract infections;
impaired tissue perfusion increases the risk of infection.
16,94
Portal thromboembolism related to enteric and
mesenteric disease processes, liver lobe or splenic torsion, or necrosis of tumor tissue are likely causes.
Immunocompromised patients have the greatest risk. In humans, polymicrobial infections and anaerobic
bacteria are isolated from approximately 50% of large solitary abscesses.
112
Organisms retrieved from cultures
of liver and bile from dogs and cats with suppurative hepatic inflammation and abscesses are given in Table
90-1. Approximately 50% of these organisms were polymicrobial, at least on morphologic (cytologic)
evaluation. Infections with gram-negative organisms are complicated by LPS. Some organisms (e.g.,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa) produce exotoxins that induce clinical signs of illness. Purified exotoxin A
associated with P. aeruginosa is highly lethal for animals, producing shock in dogs. This toxin inhibits hepatic
protein synthesis and impairs lymphocyte response to mitogens.
152
Multifocal microabscess formation also may occur in conjunction with a variety of organisms causing systemic
infection; examples include Listeria, Salmonella, Brucella, E. coli, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Bacillus
piliformis, Actinobacillus lignieresii, Actinomyces, Nocardia, and Pasteurella.
Clinical Findings
As an isolated focus of infection, hepatic abscess formation may provoke only vague clinical signs, including
fever, lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, trembling, weight loss, and rarely, polyuria, and polydipsia.
Physical examination usually discloses fever and abdominal tenderness, tachycar-dia, tachypnea,
dehydration, and, less commonly, bleeding tendencies (surface hemorrhages, retinal hemorrhages),
hepatomegaly, or a cranial abdominal mass effect, as well as suspicion of abdominal effusion. Early
diagnosis may be difficult. Animals with systemic infections usually show signs commensurate with other
organ system involvement, with the hepatobiliary system a secondarily and less overtly affected site.
90.15.1.1
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* References: 16, 54, 73, 75, 94, 104, 114, 153.
Diagnosis
Most patients develop a neutrophilic leukocytosis inconsistently associated with a left shift, toxic
neutrophils, and monocytosis. Some patients become thrombocytopenic (severe to mild) and demonstrate a
nonregenerative anemia. Increased serum ALT (1.1 to 50 times high normal), AST (1.1 to 18 times high
normal), and ALP (1.2 to 21 times high normal) activities and hyperglobulinemia are common.
Hyperfibrinogenemia with an associated hyperglobulinemia represents an acute-phase response.
Hyperbilirubinemia is inconsistent and usually mild. The sepsis syndrome is exhibited by hypoglycemia and
high lactate concentrations.
55
Studies in dogs confirm that lactic acidosis derives from increased splanchnic
lactate production and reduced hepatic lactate extraction.
33
Gram-negative bacterial abscess formation often
evokes laboratory features of endotoxemia. Septic peritonitis follows abscess rupture. Blood cultures are
more likely to be positive in patients with multiple abscesses and rarely disclose anaerobic organisms.
Ultrasound (US) provides the best chance for early diagnosis of unifocal hepatic abscess formation and is
capable of disclosing focal lesions that are 0.5 cm or larger. In humans, US is considered the diagnostic
modality of choice because of high utility in both detecting and serially monitoring lesions. US imaging also
may disclose evidence of multiple miliary abscesses overlooked by more sophisticated imaging modalities
(e.g., computerized tomography [CT], contrast-enhanced imaging).
171
US appearance of hepatic abscesses is
variable and may appear as anechoic masses having irregular margins, as lesions with a well defined rim, or
it may contain variable and complex internal echoes (Figs. 90-1 and 90-2, A and B). The presence of a
gas-associated anechoic (fluid) compartment highly suggests infection; gas appears echogenic with or
without acoustic shadowing depending on its amount and distribution. Overall echogenic patterns associated
with hepatic abscesses have been described as (1) hypoechoic lesions, consistent with liquefaction necrosis,
(2) heteroechoic lesions, reflecting an irregular hyperechoic abscess rim surrounding a liquefied hypoechoic
center, or (3) hyperechoic lesions, representing a highly cellular cellulitis or pyogranulomatous reaction,
caseation, dystrophic mineralization, or an emphysematous foci.
82,114
Rarely, a target lesion similar in
appearance to hepatic neoplasia (especially carcinoma) may be observed. An important rule-out diagnosis is
fluid collection in benign cystic structures; these are comparatively free of internal echoes and are associated
with well-defined walls, usually generating excellent sonographic transmission. Unfortunately, US images of
hepatobiliary abscesses may be compromised by intestinal ileus in which enteric gas compromises the
imaging window. Plain radiographs usually have limited value in diagnosing hepatic abscess formation.
Exceptionally, radiographs may disclose loculated hepatic gas, free abdominal gas, focal mineralization,
mass lesions, or reduced peritoneal detail, reflecting peritonitis or effusion, or both (Fig. 90-3). Miliary
abscess formation cannot be distinguished from other multifocal hepatic parenchymal lesions based on US or
radiographic imaging. Thoracic radiographs may reveal evidence of pneumonia, reflecting increased
pulmonary exposure to infectious organisms. The presence of sternal lymph node enlargement may signal
abdominal inflammation or infection because this lymphatic pathway drains the abdominal structures.
Although blood and urine cultures may identify causal organisms, these cultures are unreliable. More direct
diagnostic sampling is achieved by lesion aspiration. Cytologic examination of aspirated material should be
initially completed using a modified Wright-Giemsa's stain (Diff Quik). Identified microorganisms are
subsequently characterized by Gram staining. Although exceedingly useful, diagnostic and therapeutic
abscess aspiration is associated with a risk of peritoneal contamination, requiring forethought as to the need
for emergency laparotomy. Anaerobic and aerobic cultures of abscess contents should always be submitted.
Polymicrobial infections nearly always involve an anaerobic organism; approximately 50% of solitary
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hepatic abscesses in dogs appear to be polymicrobial. Because anaerobes are difficult to culture, they should
be suspected and treated when cytologic evaluation discloses a polymicrobial population. Furthermore,
therapy should continue even if no organisms are cultured or only a few aerobic organisms are grown. When
causal factors remain illusive, hepatic biopsy may be indicated in a search for underlying neoplasia or other
primary hepatic processes permissive to infection.
Fig 90-1 Ultrasonographic image of a hepatic abscess showing a hyperechoic
rim and heterogenous interior echogenicity (between arrows). The
image reflects solid or complex mass structure associated with
hemorrhagic, cellular, or edematous fluid or caseation. The gross
appearance of this abscess is shown in Fig. 90-2, A and B.
Fig 90-2 Gross appearance of the hepatic abscess demonstrated in Fig. 90-1
A, Lesion on surface of the liver. B, Lesion on cut surface. A
polymicrobial infection was proved to involve Bacteroides.
CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 18 of 47
Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
Fig 90-3 Radiograph demonstrating pneumoperitoneum associated with
emphysematous hepatic abscesses (arrows) and pneumoperitoneum
from a mature dog. Central necrosis of a large hepatic adenoma was
the underlying disease. A clostridial organism was suspected based
on Gram stain characteristics and was subsequently confirmed by
anaerobic bacterial culture.
Therapy
Successful management of multifocal microabscess formation in 60% of treated human cases is
accomplished when only intravenous (IV) antibiotics are used.
117
Successful outcome usually requires early
diagnosis, aggressive abscess drainage (needle-catheter or surgical drainage), lobectomy, or any combination
of these, and long-term administration (minimum of 6 to 8 weeks) of an appropriate antibiotic. Needle or
catheter drainage procedures have received increased attention as a therapeutic option for successful
management of single (or few) abscesses owing to the wide availability and high sensitivity of US
imaging.
36,114,153
Aspiration using an 18-gauge needle (superficial abscess) or 22-gauge spinal needle (deep
abscess) or via a drainage catheter placed by guide-wire technique may be performed with the intent of
removing all liquefied suppuration (large syringe, three-way valve, and collection reservoir prepared in
anticipation). Flushing the abscess cavity with sterile saline is recommended if physically possible after
evacuation. Reappraisal for potential peritoneal contamination by US imaging is recommended within 24 to
48 hours. Response to therapy is monitored with serial US images, body temperature, and measurement of
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Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
liver enzymes. In human medicine, bedside US imaging and abscess drainage (n = 886 cases) by the
managing clinician have been proven to be advantageous and safe.
36
Aspiration drainage by
clinician-operated US technique met or exceeded information and treatments afforded by imaging specialists
or alternative imaging modalities (e.g., fluoroscopy, CT imaging).
36
US-guided abscess aspiration as a primary mode of abscess treatment has been successfully applied to
veterinary patients. This approach is recommended for several reasons: (1) as a method of confirming the
diagnosis, (2) to provide time for patient stabilization before surgical exploration for liver lobe resection, and
(3) because it is successful as a solitary means of therapy in a subset of patients. Major factors arguing
against this technique include unsafe access (i.e., abscess immediately adjacent to large vascular structures in
the porta hepatis or main biliary structures) and lesion depth exceeding aspiration needle length. When
aspirating a suspected hepatic abscess, the clinician must always anticipate a need for immediate surgical
intervention in the event of abscess rupture into the peritoneal cavity. Given that primary hepatic tumors
comprise an important underlying cause of hepatic abscess formation in older dogs, these lesions must
always be considered. Unfortunately, although these lesions require resection, they may not be diagnosed
until tissue is resected and examined histologically.
The duration of antimicrobial treatment remains empirical, being based objectively on perceived patient
response. In humans, certain organisms (e.g., Actinomyces) are routinely treated for a minimum of 3
months.
156
Because polymicrobial infections involving anaerobes are relatively common, antibiotics
effective against both aerobic and anaerobic organisms should be initially administered. Anaerobes may act
synergistically with other pathogens, altering the course of infection and the prevalence of other pathogens
caused by microniche modification. In this circumstance, infection control and bacterial eradication may
become more difficult, requiring a longer course of treatment. Anaerobes can enhance virulence of other
bacteria by inhibiting phagocytosis (i.e., impairing opsonization, neutrophil chemotaxis) and by locally
interfering with the efficacy of antibacterial therapy.
102,154,155
Bacteroides fragilis is one of the worst
offenders, producing -lactamases, which can overwhelm the function of -lactamase inhibitors.
106
Good initial therapy for hepatic abscess formation is achieved with a combination of a penicillin and a
fluoroquinolone or an aminoglycoside. Metronidazole or clindamycin can be substituted for penicillin to
provide an anaerobic spectrum (see Therapy sections and Tables 90-3, 90-4, and 90-5). Fluoroquinolones
provide broader gram-positive coverage compared with aminoglycosides and are thought to have better
penetration across an abscess wall. First-generation cephalosporins, potentiated sulfonamides, and
aminoglycosides are uniformly ineffective against anaerobes.
920
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CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 20 of 47
Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
Table 90-3 Guidelines for Selection of Initial Antimicrobials for Anaerobic
Hepatobiliary Infections Based on Gram Stain Characteristics
3, 9, 45
GRAM-NEGATIVE RODS
(NON-SPORE-FORMING)
GRAM-POSITIVE
RODS
(SPORE-FORMING)
GRAM-POSITIVE RODS
(NON-SPORE FORMING)
GRAM-POSITIVE
COCCI
ANTIMICROBIAL Bacteroides Clostridium PropionibacteriumActinomycesPeptostreptococcus
Penicillin G +++ +++ +++ +++
Penicillin and -lactamase
inhibitor
to ++ +++ +++ +++ +++
Ticarcillin +++ +++ +++ +++ +++
Imipenem +++ +++ +++ ++ +++
Cephalosporins
Cephalothin
(first
generation)
+++ ++
Cefoxitin
(second
generation)
to ++ to +++ to++ to ++ +++
Cefotaxime
(third
generation)
to +++ to ++ to ++ +++
Metronidazole +++ +++ +++ ++ to +++
Clindamycin ++ to +++ +++ +++ ++ +++
Chloramphenicol +++ +++ +++ ++ +++
Tetracycline to + to ++ to ++
Doxycycline to + to ++ to +++
Fluoroquinolones to ++ NA to ++
Aminoglycosides
a

Trimethoprim-sulfonamide
b
NA NA
Vancomycin +++ +++ ++ +++
NA, Not available; , not effective; +, slight efficacy; ++, effective; +++, very effective.
a Aminoglycosides require transport enzyme systems to gain entrance to the interior of the bacteria;
these are lacking in anaerobes.
b Sulfonamides are usually not effective despite in vitro sensitivity testing results. Tissue necrosis
and suppuration commonly associated with anaerobic infections result in competitive inhibition of
sulfonamide activity.
Treatment of hepatic microabscesses requires extensive supportive care and long-term administration of a
tailored antibiotic regimen specifically targeting involved pathogens along with identification and
management of the underlying cause. Disseminated sepsis should initiate a search for an underlying
condition compromising immune defense (see Table 90-2).
Granulomatous Hepatitis
Granulomatous hepatic inflammation is an uncommon diagnosis characterized by multiple discrete, sharply
defined nodular infiltrates consisting of macrophage aggregates (and sometimes epithelioid cells) surrounded by
or intermixed with (or both) lymphocytes and plasma cells. Lesions may be focal, multifocal, or diffuse.
Underlying causes include metazoal (e.g., schistosomiasis, dirofilariasis), fungal (e.g., histoplasmosis,
paecilomycosis), protozoal (e.g., visceral leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis), bacterial (e.g., infections with
mycobacteria, Nocardia, Bartonella, Brucella, Borrelia, Propionibacterium acnes), and viral (e.g., feline
921
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Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
coronavirus [feline infectious peritonitis virus] infections; visceral larval migrans (Toxocara migration); and
noninfectious disorders (drug reactions, lymphangiectasia, histiocytosis or histiocytic neoplasia,
lymphosarcoma, and immune-mediated inflammation). These disorders may be associated with a positive
antinuclear antibody test.
26
Causal factors have remained elusive in at least 50% of cases; however, with
increased molecular surveillance for infectious origins, more definitive diagnoses are anticipated.
Table 90-4 Guidelines for Selection of Initial Antimicrobials for Aerobic
Hepatobiliary Infections Based on Gram Stain
Characteristics
3,4,9,50,145,146
GRAM-POSITIVE COCCI GRAM-NEGATIVE RODS
VARIABLE Staph. Strep. Enteroc. E. coli Past. Enterob.
Pseud.
a
Kleb.
Penicillin G to + +++
to ++
b
+++
Penicillin and -lactamase
inhibitor
+ to +++ +++
to ++
b
to ++
b
+++
Extended-Spectrum Penicillin
Ticarcillin to + +++
++
b
to ++
b
+++
+++
b
to +++
b

Ticarcillin and -lactamase
inhibitor
to +++ +++
++
b
to ++
b
+++
+++
b
to +++
b
to
+++
b
Imipenem/cilastatin to +++ +++ +++
+++
b
+++
+++
b
+++
c
+++
b
Cephalosporins
Cephalothin (first
generation)
to + +++ ++ +++ +++
Cefoxitin (second
generation)
to + +++ ++ +++ to ++ +++
Cefotaxime (third
generation)
to ++ +++ +++ +++ +++ to ++ +++
Metronidazole
Clindamycin to +++ ++
Chloramphenicol to + +++ +++ +++ to ++ to ++ to
+++
Tetracycline NA ++ to - to ++
Doxycycline to +++ +++ to ++
Fluoroquinolones to + to + to + +++ +++ +++
++
c
+++
Aminoglycosides
d
to + to + +++ +++ +++ NA +++
Trimethoprim-sulfonamide
e
to + to + to + to +++ NA ++ +++
Vancomycin to +++ +++ +++
Staph., Staphylococcus; Strep., Streptococcus; Enteroc., Enterococcus; E. coli, Escherichia coli; Past., Pasteurella; Enterob.,
Enterobacter; Pseud., Pseudomonas; Kleb., Klebsiella; NA, data not available; , not effective; +, slight efficacy; ++,
effective; +++, very effective.
a Pseudomonas may require parenteral third-generation cephalosporins, antipseudomonal penicillins:
ticarcillin, carbenicillin, ticarcillin clavulanate, or lastly, a fluoroquinolone.
b Synergistic with aminoglycosides.
c Not used for Pseudomonas fluorescens infections.
d Aminoglycosides require transport enzyme systems to gain entrance to the interior of the bacteria;
these are lacking in anaerobes.
CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 22 of 47
Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
e Sulfonamides are usually not effective despite in vitro susceptibility testing results. Tissue necrosis
and suppuration commonly associated with anaerobic infections result in competitive inhibition of
sulfonamide activity.
Clinical signs may remain vague. In patients with diffuse hepatic involvement, signs may involve profound
hepatomegaly, causing discomfort, icterus, and (later) ascites. Laboratory features include hyperbilirubinemia,
high serum ALP, and more variable transaminase activity. In patients with diffuse severe parenchymal
involvement, hepatic failure is indicated by subnormal cholesterol and urea concentrations and prolonged
coagulation times. Although hepatomegaly is associated with severe diffuse parenchymal involvement, chronic
disease may lead to a reduced liver size. Change in hepatic size is usually evident radiographically. The US
image may appear normal or disclose a diffusely or irregularly hyperechoic hepatic parenchyma and regional
hypoechogenicity. Splenomegaly and mesenteric lymphadenopathy are common, followed later by peritoneal
effusion. Histopathologic lesions vary in zonal distribution, severity, and cell involvement, depending on the
underlying cause.
31
Infectious causes require specific targeted therapy. In idiopathic cases in which an immune-mediated
mechanism is surmised, lesions may abate with glucocorticoid or other immunosuppressive therapies (e.g.,
azathioprine, cyclosporin, methotrexate). However, immunosuppression requires vigilant monitoring for
opportunistic pathogenicity of undetected infectious agents. Molecular techniques for detecting infectious
causes has been widely used and applied successfully in human medicine. Recently, PCR analysis detected
Bartonella spp. infection from two dogs with hepatic disease, one with blatant pyogranulomatous inflammation
and the other unexpectedly (Doberman pinscher with chronic hepatitis used as a disease control).
63

Hepatosplenic Bartonella infection in humans is thought to be widely under-diagnosed when it is associated
with multinodular lesions involving either bacillary angiomatosis or peliosis hepatica (the latter lesion has been
reported in an infected dog) or a necrotizing granulomatous reaction.
43,93,129
Feline Hepatobiliary Infections
Cholangitis-Cholangiohepatitis
The cholangitis-cholangiohepatitis syndrome (CCHS) is the most common necroinflammatory hepatobiliary
disorder of the domestic cat.
24,61,87
Inflammation involving intrahepatic bile ducts (cholangitis) is frequently
associated with chronic interstitial pancreatitis possibly because of the anatomic proximity of these tissues
(anatomic fusion of the common bile and pancreatic ducts), because of shared epitopes on epithelial cells of
these ductular structures, or because of a common, as of yet unidentified, infectious organism. Concurrent
presence of IBD and interstitial nephritis is also clinically recognized. Cholangiohepatitis as a classification
exists when cholangitis extends to involve surrounding hepatic parenchyma. CCHS may be suppurative or
nonsuppurative; cats with suppurative disease are more acutely and severely ill. Although some researchers
have postulated that suppurative inflammation may progress to nonsuppurative disease, this has not been
confirmed. CCHS has been detected in cats infected with a variety of agents, including trematodes,
Toxoplasma (see Chapter 80), an organism resembling Hepatozoon canis (see Chapter 74), gram-negative
intestinal bacteria, Clostridium piliforme, formerly Bacillus piliformis (see Chapter 39) (Fig. 90-4),
Bartonella (experimentally), and recently, Helicobacter DNA found in archived formalin-fixed tissue from
two cats.
71
Given that a general unifying infectious cause of CCHS has not been discovered, most cats are
classified as having idiopathic disease if infectious agents are not identified cytologically or cultured from
liver and bile samplings. Although infectious agents may initiate inflammation, the process appears to
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involve chronic and self-perpetuating immunologic and oxidative tissue injury. However, some cats with
nonsuppurative CCHS have had positive bacterial cultures from liver tissue and bile.
CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 24 of 47
Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
Table 90-5 Dosages of Drugs for Treatment of Hepatobiliary Infections and
Modifications for Hepatic Insufficiency or Jaundice
DRUG
a
DOSE
b
ROUTE INTERVAL
(HOURS)
TOXICITY WITH
ACCUMULATION
c
STANDARD LIVER-IMPAIRED
Antimicrobials
Penicillin G 20,00040,000
U/kg
IV, IM, SC 4 Low
Amoxicillin-clavulanate 1020 mg/kg PO 12 Low
Ticarcillin 1525 mg/kg
over 15 min
then CRI
IV, IM, SC IV loading
then CRI or
discrete
dosing at 68
Low
7.515 mg/kg/hr
or 4080 mg/kg
IV, IM, SC IV loading
then CRI or
discrete
dosing at 68
Low
Imipenem 510 mg/kg IV/IM 68 Low
Cephalosporins
1st generation 1030 mg/kg PO, IV, IM, SC 8 Low
2nd generation 1020 mg/kg IM, IV 8 Low
Ceftazidine 3050 mg/kg IV 812 Low
Metronidazole 15 mg/kg 7.5 mg/kg PO 12 Neurotoxic
Clindamycin 1016 mg/kg 5 mg/kg SC 24 Anorexia,
vomiting, diarrhea
510 mg/kg 5 mg/kg PO 12 Anorexia,
vomiting, diarrhea
Chloramphenicol (rarely indicated) D: 2550 mg/kg 1225 mg/kg PO, IV, IM, SC 8 Myelosuppression
C: 1622 mg/kg 811 mg/kg PO, IV, IM, SC 8 Myelosuppression
Tetracycline 1020 mg/kg PO 8 Potential
hepatotoxic
Doxycycline 2.55 mg/kg PO 12 Low
Enrofloxacin D: 2.55 mg/kg

d
PO, IM, SC 12 Drug interactions,
seizures
C: 2.5 mg/kg/day

d
PO, IM, SC 24 Drug interactions,
seizures
Gentamicin 68 mg/kg IV, IM, SC 24 Nephrotoxic,
ototoxic;
therapeutic
monitoring
Amikacin 1015 mg/kg IV, IM, SC 24 Nephrotoxic,
ototoxic;
therapeutic
monitoring
Trimethoprim-sulfonamide 30 mg/kg 15 mg/kg PO, SC 1224 Cholestasis,
immune complex
disease
Vancomycin 1520 mg/kg IV (slowly
over 3060
min)
812 Nephrotoxic,
painful IM;
therapeutic
monitoring
recommended
esp. cats.
CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 25 of 47
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Supportive Therapy
B-Vitamins 2 ml/liter fluid
therapy
IV Each fluid
allocation
Low
Vitamin K
1
0.51.5 mg/kg SC
12
e
Anaphylaxis if IV,
hemolysis if too
great a dose:
heinz bodies
Vitamin C (avoid if high liver tissue
Cu or Fe concentrations in biopsy)
100500 mg total PO, IV 24 Low, may
augment hepatic
oxidative injury
associated with
transition metals
(Cu & Fe)
Vitamin E 1015 U/kg PO 24 Low
Ursodeoxycholic acid 7.5 mg/kg PO 12
Pruritus
f
Crystalloids 66 ml/kg IV, SC 24 Edema,
hypertension
Hetastarch D: 1020 mg/kg IV 24 Hypertension
C: 1015 mg/kg IV 24 Hypertension
Desmopressin acetate DDAVP 15 g/kg 20
min before
effect, lasts only
2 hr
IV 1 time
treatment
Also use as
pretreatment
for blood
donor to
increase vWF
& Factor VIII
High dose may
augment water
retention and
aggravate edema
or ascites, rarely a
problem
CRI, Constant rate infusion; D, dog; C, cat; DDAVP, deoxy-d-arginine vasopressin; vWF, vonWillebrand's factor
a For further information on antimicrobial drugs, see Drug Formulary, Appendix 8.
b Dose per administration at specified interval.
c For additional information on toxicity, see Drug Formulary, Appendix 8.
d Data on dose reduction not established.
e Use for 13 doses, then dose every 710 days. Too frequent administration or too high a dose will
cause Heinz body hemolytic anemia in cats.
f Avoid use until complete biliary obstruction is relieved.
Suppurative Cholangitis
Suppurative cholangitis occurs least commonly.* Most cats are middle aged or younger, predominantly
male, and have only a short duration of clinical illness (under 5 days). Fewer than 50% of patients have
hepatomegaly, and most are jaundiced, febrile, lethargic, dehydrated, and exhibit abdominal pain. Vomiting
or diarrhea occurs in approximately 50% of cases.
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Fig 90-4 Photomicrograph of hepatic tissue from a cat with suppurative
cholangiohepatitis. Even though the suppurative nature of the
inflammation is recognizable, infectious organisms could not be seen
(H and E stain, 600). Bacterial organisms were clearly evident on an
impression cytologic imprint.
Most cats with suppurative CCHS have underlying disorders of the biliary system, causing bile stasis
(cholestasis), including EHBDO, cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, choledochitis, or periductal pancreatic and
biliary duct fibrosis derived from ascending infection, pancreatitis, trematode infection, immune-mediated
mechanisms (presumed) or congenital biliary tract malformation (polycystic liver disease). Inflammatory
bowel disease is a common concurrent problem and is thought to contribute to infection. Culture of tissue,
bile, and choleliths have disclosed infections with, in descending order of frequency, Enterococcus, E. coli,
Enterobacter, Staphylococcus spp., -hemolytic Streptococcus, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Citrobacter
freundi, Pseudomonas, Actinomyces, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium spp., and Bacteroides.
Unfortunately, a positive result on bacterial culture does not define a causal relationship because cholestasis
predisposes to infection by opportunists translocated from enteric flora, ascending the biliary tree, or
hematogenously dispersed. Most cats have intermittent vomiting and diarrhea, which circumstantially may
coincide with portal bacteremia or reflux of enteric flora into biliary or pancreatic ducts.
Suppurative cholangitis is characterized by a neutrophilic infiltrate around and within intrahepatic bile ducts
and associated periductal edema, hepatocellular cholestasis (canalicular bile plugs), and eventually, with
chronicity of greater than several weeks, a circumferential periportal fibrolamellar mantel.
* References: 22, 24, 55, 61, 79, 84.
Nonsuppurative Cholangitis
Nonsuppurative cholangitis is the most common form of CCHS, occurring in middle-aged to older cats. This
form of disease is associated with variable clinical signs and slow, insidious progression. No sex or breed
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predisposition has been found, feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency virus infection is not a
predisposing factor, most cats are ill for more than 3 weeks, and many are ill for greater than 2 months or for
several years. Intermittent anorexia, vomiting and diarrhea, weight loss, cyclic fever, hepatomegaly, and
jaundice occur in 70% of cats. Most cats are not consistently lethargic, and chronic disease may lead to
polyphagia, apparently associated with maldigestion induced by impaired bile flow and chronic IBD.
Common concurrent chronic disorders include IBD, fibrosing pancreatitis, and cholecystitis. In some cats, a
history of EHBDO or prior suppurative CCHS exists, which may have initiated the disease process
(presumably). However, in some cats, chronic CCHS is the only identified disorder. Importantly, some of
these cats develop hepatobiliary infections possibly as a consequence of immunosuppressive therapy or
overlooked primary infectious origins. Some of these cats progress to develop biliary tree neoplasia
(adenocarcinoma).
Retrospective and prospective evaluation of affected cats in the author's hospital suggests several different
histologic categories included in the morphologic description of nonsuppurative CCHS: (1)
lymphoplasmacytic cholangitis, (2) lymphocytic cholangitis, (3) lymphoproliferative disease (low-grade
lymphosarcoma confined to the liver), and (4) a sclerosing cholangitis form associated with destruction of
small to medium sized bile ducts.
22,24
Discussion of each subset is beyond the scope of this chapter.
Histologically, nonsuppurative inflammation is characterized by bile duct hyperplasia, periportal and
periductal fibrosis, lymphoid or lymphoplasmacytic aggregates in the portal triads, and (with chronicity)
biliary cirrhosis. Duct destruction in certain cats leads to ductopenia or a sclerosing cholangitis category
characterized by obliteration of small and medium-sized bile ducts proven by application of an epithelial
specific immunocytokeratin stain. The least common type of portal inflammation in cats is characterized by
portal lymphocytic or lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates lacking an apparent involvement of bile ducts; these are
more appropriately described by the term lymphocytic portal hepatitis.
61
Clinical Laboratory Findings
Suppurative cholangitis is usually associated with a moderate-to-severe neutrophilic leukocytosis, which may
be accompanied by a left shift with or without toxic changes. Nonsuppurative cholangitis may be associated
with a mild nonregenerative anemia, normal leukogram, neutrophilic leukocytosis, or lymphocytosis.
Variable magnitudes of increased serum activities of ALT, AST, ALP, and -glutamyltransferase (-GT)
develop, depending on the duration and degree of tissue inflammation and cholestasis. Hyperglobulinemia
and prerenal azotemia are common on initial presentation of overtly ill animals. Hyperbilirubinemia is more
consistent in cats with nonsuppurative cholangitis and has an insidious onset and cyclic nature. In the
anicteric cat, detection of bilirubinuria is a sensitive measure of impending hyperbilirubinemia. Measurement
of serum bile acids can also detect cholestasis before overt hyperbilirubinemia. Abnormal coagulation test
results and bleeding tendencies responsive to vitamin K
1
are observed in severe CCHS accompanied by
anorexia of several days duration, EHBDO, or intrahepatic ductopenia. Radiography is fairly unrewarding,
although dystrophic mineralization is sometimes observed in cats with chronic intrahepatic bile duct
inflammation and infection, when radiodense choleliths exist, or when unexpected hepatomegaly is
confirmed. Hepatic US may fail to disclose altered liver echogenicity, may reflect diffuse hyperechogenicity
(a result either from fibrosis, inflammation, or development of hepatic lipidosis), or disclose a heterogenous
multifocal pattern. Mineralization of intrahepatic bile ducts is rarely observed. Thickening of biliary
structures and evidence of EHBDO may be found. Abdominal effusion is rare in cats with CCHS unless
suppurative inflammation and infection exist or severe portal hypertension caused by extensive periportal
fibrosis has developed.
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Therapy
Surgical exploration is necessary for definitive diagnosis of necroinflammatory hepatobiliary disorders in the
cat because it allows visual and mechanical inspection of the biliary tree, sampling of multiple tissues
(biopsy of liver, gut, pancreas, and mesenteric lymph nodes), and collection of samples (tissue, bile) for
aerobic and anaerobic bacterial culture. If the common bile duct is occluded, a biliary diversion can be
implemented or inspissated bile removed. Hydrocholeresis can be used to improve bile flow postoperatively
in these cats through administration of ursodeoxycholic acid. Surgical biopsies provide better intestinal
samples as compared with endoscopically retrieved samples and have the advantage of permitting biopsy of
jejunum and ileum in addition to duodenum and stomach, as well as safe pancreatic sampling, bile
aspiration, and collection of liver biopsies from several different liver areas in a short period. Biopsy of
several liver lobes is recommended because differential liver lobe involvement has been shown in patients
with high liver enzymes (i.e., minimal involvement in one liver lobe with concurrent severe involvement in
another).
A therapeutic strategy is formulated after examination of the liver and bile for sepsis. Aggressive antibiotic
therapy is implemented if infection is suspected while aerobic and anaerobic bacterial culture results are
pending. Hepatic tissue should be submitted for routine histologic evaluation and reviewed for infectious
agents with special stains or immunohistochemistry or subjected to PCR-amplification techniques for
unusual organisms. If flukes are considered a possibility, feces should be examined preoperatively and bile
collected intraoperatively for trematode egg detection.
Management of CCHS requires long-term supportive care, including fluid therapy, nutritional support by
feeding appliance if necessary (esophagostomy or gastrostomy is preferred in most cases) with a balanced
feline ration, supplemental water-soluble vitamins (two times normal dosing), antibiotics tailored to the
involved infectious organisms, ursodeoxycholic acid for its immunomodulatory-antifibrotic-choleretic and
hepatoprotective effects, and, in cases of nonsuppurative CCHS in which no infectious agent has been
detected, immunomodulation (antiinflammatory doses of prednisolone are customary).
22,24
Suppurative
cholangitis should be treated with antibiotics for at least 6 to 8 weeks. Periodic reevaluation (every 2 to 3
weeks) using physical assessment, hemogram, liver enzyme activities, and bilirubin concentration, is used to
monitor patient response. Assessments are based on patient physical status, including body weight and
condition, absence of fever, resolution of leukocytosis and jaundice, and reduced liver enzyme activities.
Reevaluation of a liver biopsy is desirable but often cannot be justified. In some cases, an US-guided hepatic
and bile aspiration permits reevaluation of infection (cytology and cultures). Aspiration of hepatic
parenchyma may also disclose developing hepatic lipidosis and initiate further metabolic and nutritional
supportive efforts and restriction of glucocorticoids. Some cats with nonsuppurative CCHS appear to be
glucocorticoid intolerant, developing hepatic lipid vacuolation or becoming diabetic.
Cats with nonsuppurative cholangitis should be prophylactically treated with antibiotics for possible
infectious causes until culture results, antibody titers, cytology of impression smears, and histopathology rule
out an infectious cause or decrease it from consideration. If peribiliary fibrosis is observed and culture and
titer results deny infectious agents, prednisolone is given initially at a dose of 2.0 to 4.0 mg/kg, orally, once
per day. This dose is tapered after the first 1 to 4 weeks depending on patient drug tolerance and clinical
response. Chronic administration of antiinflammatory and chemotherapeutic drugs is necessary to control
severe nonsuppurative CCHS. Given that hepatic glutathione concentrations have been shown to be low in
cats with CCHS, antioxidants are now routinely recommended in the form of (1) S-adenosylmethionine
(Denosyl-SD4 [Nutramax Laboratories, Inc., Edgewood, Md.] 200 mg/cat per day) and (2) -tocopherol
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(vitamin E; 10 IU/kg/day), along with a daily source of water-soluble vitamins because deficiency of certain
B vitamins can limit important metabolic pathways that may facilitate antioxidant function and development
of hepatic lipidosis. The adequacy of vitamin B
12
is appraised in all cats with CCHS because this vitamin
undergoes enterohepatic circulation and is known to be seriously compromised in cats with substantial gut
disease (infiltrative disease such as lymphoma or severe IBD and enteric lamina propria fibrosis). An
important subset of cats with hepatic lipidosis exhibits vitamin B
12
deficiency, possibly lending to both
glutathione deficiency and inadequacy of l-carnitine, dependent on adequate methylation reactions
(influenced by SAMe availability and vitamin B
12
). In cats with the sclerosing CCHS form of disease,
methotrexate is used by the author at a total dose of 0.4 mg, given every 8 hours per day once weekly, along
with folinic acid (folate) at 0.25 mg/kg and the other medications described previously.
22,24
Most of these
cats also receive chronic low-dose metronidazole (7.5 mg/kg, orally, every 12 hours) for its
immunomodulatory effect useful in managing IBD (typically a coexistent problem), as well as its excellent
protection against anaerobic bacterial organisms that may opportunistically complicate the illness.
Cholecystitis and Extrahepatic Bile Duct Occlusion
Septic inflammation of the bile ducts and gallbladder can develop in dogs and cats as a distinct entity.
56
With
chronicity, many of these patients eventually develop EHBDO or a ruptured biliary tree (bile peritonitis). Bile
peritonitis is discussed in another section. Although the pathogenesis of acute cholecystitis is not clearly
understood, a variety of associated causes are implicated, including any disorder causing obstruction of the
biliary tree, gallbladder dysmotility, septicemia, or ascending bacterial invasion of the biliary structures.
22

Acute cholecystitis can be experimentally created by introducing pepsin, activated proteolytic pancreatic
enzymes, neutrophils, or bacteria into the bile duct.
65,158
Such spontaneous reflux of initiating agents up the
shared bile duct may occur in the cat, especially considering ductal pressure changes invoked by the vomiting
reflex. Cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis may each be associated with septic and nonseptic cholangitis,
cholecystitis, and choledochocystitis (gallbladder and duct inflammation) in both dogs and cats.
92
In dogs, old,
small- to medium-sized breed females are more commonly afflicted with cholelithiasis, especially if an
underlying disorder of lipid metabolism exists (e.g., hereditary defect of lipoprotein metabolism,
hypothyroidism). Bile stasis, biliary inflammation and infection, altered bile composition (increased cholesterol
or bilirubin concentrations), or biliary mucosal irregularity associated with neoplasia or cystic mucinous
hyperplasia can promote biliary lithiasis or gallbladder mucocele formation. The slow, insidious onset of duct
occlusion by choleliths or slow-growing neoplasia augments development of biliary infection. E. coli is a
common isolate from biliary tissue and bile in animals with cholecystitis. Aerobic bacterial culture results of
bile from dogs with gallbladder mucoceles have been positive
10
; however, microscopic abnormalities did not
suggest primary biliary tract infection, and bacterial colonization may likely be secondary to biliary stasis.
Chronic cholecystitis also has been associated with Salmonella (dogs) and Pasteurella (cats). Acute
cholecystitis has been reported in dogs with Campylobacter (likely Helicobacter) infections (see Chapter 39).
Although still controversial, the pathologic role of Helicobacter in certain forms of biliary tree disease in
humans and animal models is expanding.
102
Most diagnoses are based on PCR detection of Helicobacter DNA,
and whether this represents enterohepatic circulation of DNA in bile, transient colonization, or colonization
with pathogenicity remains arguable.
102
Given that conditions such as biliary infection, cystic duct occlusion,
EHBDO, and acute cholecystitis are known to decrease bile pH significantly, markedly, researchers have
suggested that Helicobacter spp. may opportunistically appear in patients with more primary hepatobiliary
disorders.
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In human and in experimental animal models, the general belief holds that bacteria play an important role in the
formation of pigment gallstones. Glucuronidases produced by certain Enterobacteriaceae can deconjugate
bilirubin diglucuronide, resulting in precipitation of calcium bilirubinate, which may culminate in stone
formation.
170
Other organisms may interact with bile through production of hydrolyzing enzymes, perpetuated
inflammation (foreign body effect), and provision of nucleating proteins such as immunoglobulins or debris
derived from bacteria, mucus, or cells that can act as a nucleation nidus.
Clinical Signs
Infections involving the bile ducts and gallbladder generate clinical signs of infection and EHBDO. These
signs include fever, anorexia, vomiting, abdominal tenderness, hepatomegaly, jaundice, and (with EHBDO)
acholic feces and bleeding tendencies. Clinical signs can be persistent, intermittent, or episodic.
Diagnosis
Cholecystitis is frequently associated with clinicopathologic abnormalities typical of EHBDO and severe
CCHS in cats. A nonregenerative anemia attributable to chronic inflammation may develop. A strongly
regenerative anemia may reflect substantial enteric hemorrhage derived from gastroduodenal ulcers
associated with gastroduodenal vascular ectasia, portal hypertensive gastroenteropathy compromising
mucosal perfusion and repair, and co-existent IBD. Portal hypertension derives from biliary cirrhosis, which
is a predictable sequela to complete EHBDO after 6 weeks. A marked leukocytosis with a left shift is
common. Liver enzyme activities, especially ALP and -GT, are markedly increased (5 to 10 times reference
values). Severe cholestasis is common, with hyperbilirubinemia reaching as much as 20 times reference
values. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol usually increase two to four times reference values in
complete EHBDO. Prolonged coagulation times may develop as a result of vitamin K
1
depletion or DIC.
Lack of an enterohepatic circulation of vitamins B
12
and K
1
(and possibly folate) are seemingly more
problematic for cats. Septic bile peritonitis may prevail if the biliary system ruptures subsequent to
necrotizing cholecystitis. Abdominocentesis yielding yellowish-orange fluid containing bile with or without
bacteria indicates the need for abdominal lavage and surgical intervention. Abdominal radiographs may
disclose the presence of abdominal effusion and, in exceptional cases, radiodense mineralized choleliths
(Fig. 90-5). Although many choleliths are radiopaque in cats and dogs, a considerable subset of cats have
radiodense choleliths identifiable on good quality survey abdominal radiographs.
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Fig 90-5 Radiograph showing radiodense choledocholithiasis within the
intrahepatic biliary tree in a mature cat that 2 years previously
underwent cholecystotomy for cholelith removal. Chronic
cholangitis, biliary infection, and sludged bile were contributing
causes of cholelith development.
US images provide important diagnostic information, revealing changes consistent with EHBDO as early as
72 hours of onset. Initial changes include thickening and distention of biliary structures, obstruction-induced
tortuosity of the common duct, and choleliths, reflecting acoustic shadows in the gallbladder (Fig.
90-6).
121,176
Choleliths within the common or cystic ducts are less easily imaged because of adjacent enteric
gas. Care must be taken to avoid confusion caused by commonly visualized gallbladder bile sludge or
sediment observed in anorectic patients. Gravitational mobility can be used to evaluate bile fluidity. The
kiwi fruit sign indicative of a biliary mucocele also may be disclosed (Fig. 90-7). A bi- or trilaminar
appearance of the gallbladder wall associated with a heterogenous or kiwi fruit sign suggests a biliary
mucocele associated with necrotizing cholecystitis and a need for emergency cholecystectomy, biliary
diversion, common duct repair, or any combination of these measures (Fig. 90-8). US evaluation may also
disclose pericholecystic effusion and guide accurate needle sampling for cytologic and culture analyses.
Cholecystocentesis
Diagnostic sampling of bile may be useful in certain cases in which infection of the biliary tree or
cholecystitis is considered possible.
177,147
This procedure is ill advised in the presence of suspected EHBDO
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Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
or US changes indicative of necrotizing cholecystitis. Sampling of bile can be safely achieved by US
guidance using a transhepatic approach. The transhepatic approach provides some degree of compression on
the site of gallbladder puncture limiting bile extravasation. Nevertheless, sampling should be completed with
the intent of removing as much liquid bile as possible to reduce subsequent leakage. Sampling by US
guidance is done using a 22-gauge spinal needle, a 3-way valve, extension tubing, syringe, and receptacle;
sterile tubes for collecting culture specimens should be available. Penetration of the gallbladder is
accomplished using a rapid thrusting motion rather than slow-dull pressure because the latter technique may
induce a vasovagal response that can lead to pathologic bradycardia, hypotension, and asystole (see later
discussion under Cholecystitis). During exploratory laparotomy or laparoscopy, direct gallbladder puncture
for bile collection should also be completed with the intent of emptying the gallbladder to reduce
postsampling leakage. US evaluation of the biliary tree 24 to 48 hours after nonsurgical transhepatic
sampling is advised to monitor for the presence or extent of focal bile accumulation, especially if biliary
sepsis is found on cytologic evaluation of the aspirated bile.
Fig 90-6 Ultrasonographic image showing a mineralized cholelith with
acoustic shadowing in a cat with suppurative CCHS (GB, gallbladder;
CBD, distended common bile duct; ST, stone).
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Fig 90-7 Ultrasonographic image showing the kiwi fruit sign, consistent with
the presence of a biliary mucocele. A biliary mucocele is composed
of thick tenacious mucous and biliary debris entrapped in a
dysfunctional gallbladder. This phenomenon can lead to necrotizing
cholecystitis complicated by infection.
Fig 90-8 Ultrasonographic image of the gallbladder in a dog with necrotizing
cholecystitis. Notice the laminar appearance of the gallbladder wall
(arrows), consistent with edema and tissue necrosis, obvious on
histologic section.
CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 34 of 47
Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
Therapy
Treatment of septic cholecystitis includes prolonged administration of antibiotics effective against involved
aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Selection of antibiotics that achieve good systemic concentration is
important. Laparotomy is necessary to confirm the diagnosis, to identify etiologic factors, and to perform
cholecystectomy or biliary diversion, or both (e.g., biliary decompression, provision of an alternate route of
bile drainage, cholecystoenterostomy, choledochoenterostomy). The need for cholecystectomy is determined
by the surgeon and is advised when even a small portion of the gallbladder wall appears devitalized or when
neoplasia is suspected. Emergency laparotomy is essential if biliary rupture or septic bile peritonitis is
detected. Management of bile peritonitis is discussed later. Hydrocholeresis in conjunction with appropriate
antibiotics is used on a long-term basis to diminish bile stasis, after biliary obstruction is resolved. See
General Treatment Considerations.
Fig 90-9 Radiograph demonstrating emphysematous cholecystitis observed in
a dog with diabetes mellitus (arrows denote gas in gallbladder).
Emphysematous Cholecystitis
Emphysematous cholecystitis is an uncommon and life-threatening condition diagnosed in dogs with and
without diabetes mellitus.
18,73,104,105
Diagnosis in the cat is rare. The most commonly recognized precipitating
factor is cystic duct obstruction. Ischemia of the gallbladder wall as a result of tense gallbladder distention
potentiates an environment conducive to invasion by gas-producing anaerobes. Accessed bacteria can
proliferate in the gallbladder wall and spread within adjacent tissues or shared microvasculature. Left untreated,
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CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 35 of 47
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the gallbladder may rupture and organisms spill into the abdominal cavity, leading to pneumoperitoneum and
septic peritonitis (Fig. 90-9).
Clinical Findings
Clinical signs associated with emphysematous cholecystitis include abdominal tenderness, fever, jaundice,
anorexia, and vomiting. Neutrophilic leukocytosis with a left shift and toxic changes; hyperbilirubinemia;
increased serum ALP, -GT, ALT, and AST activities; and prerenal azotemia are common. A tympanic
abdomen may follow gallbladder rupture. Initial radiographic features may consist only of poorly defined gas
infiltrates in the gallbladder wall. Over time, this activity may expand to fill the gallbladder lumen and
progressively involve pericholecystic tissues. A sufficient volume of gas for radiographic detection usually
accumulates within a few days of overt clinical signs; radiography, however, is insensitive for an early
pivotal diagnosis. US may disclose small amounts of gas in the gallbladder wall as an echogenic line. Large
amounts of gas may prevent visualization of the gallbladder wall, casting a distinct acoustic shadow.
Unfortunately, US may not clearly differentiate whether gas localizes to the gallbladder wall or extends into
the surrounding tissue.
92
Rarely, small amounts of gas may be detected within intrahepatic bile ducts.
Conditions other than emphysematous cholecystitis compromising US visualization of the gallbladder
include the presence of a porcelain gallbladder (mineralized wall), a contracted gallbladder filled with
choleliths, and duodenal ileus (gas-filled intestines that may be overcome by intercostal positioning of the
probe or imaging of patient in standing posture). The most common bacteria isolated from humans and dogs
with emphysematous cholecystitis are Clostridium spp. (Fig. 90-10).
Therapy
Management of emphysematous cholecystitis involves cholecystectomy combined with prolonged
administration of antibiotics effective against anaerobes, but even then, the prognosis is poor. Only rarely
have patients with emphysematous cholecystitis survived without surgical intervention. Medical and surgical
treatment for septic peritonitis is usually needed.
Bile Peritonitis
Bile peritonitis is a serious complication of biliary tree infection, inflammation, ischemia, or trauma. The
toxicity of bile on tissues and hypovolemic shock associated with the pooling of fluid in the peritoneal cavity
are responsible for most clinical signs. Pleural effusion of a similar composition may also accumulate.
8

Bacterial contamination of biliary ascites may spontaneously develop and is the usual cause of death.
19,22,124

Bile-induced permeability changes in the intestinal wall promote passage of enteric flora into the peritoneal
effusion. Anaerobic organisms (Clostridium spp.) have also been shown to spontaneously invade
experimentally created biliary ascites in dogs.
Clinical Findings
Animals with bile peritonitis usually have histories of anorexia, vomiting, abdominal tenderness and
distention, fever, and lethargy. Most patients are overtly jaundiced. However, some animals with aseptic bile
peritonitis can be relatively free of clinical signs because of omental and adhesion loculation of spilled bile.
Animals with septic peritonitis may develop emphysematous peritonitis subsequent to growth of
gas-producing bacteria; this condition may progress, causing a tense and tympanic abdomen (see Fig. 90-3).
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90.15.5.2
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Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
Fig 90-10 A, Sporulating Clostridium spp. found in the abdominal effusion. B,
Free spores (arrows) from a dog with an emphysematous hepatic
abscess, pneumoperitoneum, and septic peritonitis (Wright-Giemsa,
680). Same dog as that shown in Fig. 90-3.
Diagnosis
Hematologic abnormalities typically include a left-shifted neutrophilic leukocytosis with toxic changes.
Some patients have a degenerative left-shifted leukon, representing systemic sepsis and peritoneal leukocyte
migration. However, some patients with walled-off abdominal infection show no hematologic features.
Biochemical abnormalities typically reflect the underlying disease process involving biliary structures.
Increased serum activities of liver enzymes and moderate to severe hyperbilirubinemia are typical.
Hypercholesterolemia develops if EHBDO precedes biliary tree rupture. Progressive hypoalbuminemia
reflects sequestration of a protein-rich abdominal effusion. Prerenal azotemia reflects systemic volume
contraction and reduced renal perfusion and may indicate endotoxemia. Prolonged hypovolemia or
hypotension may provoke acute renal failure.
Abdominal radiography typically discloses a diffuse loss of visceral detail. Careful evaluation for free
abdominal gas or gas within the biliary structures is essential because anaerobic bacterial infection is
indicated. Cholangiography or cholescintigraphic studies are rarely indicated. Cholangiography may not
delineate the site of biliary rupture because of competition between iodinated imaging agents and bilirubin,
as well as reduced flow within the biliary tree. Cholescintigraphy using an iminodiacetic analog can provide
a noninvasive method of documenting the site of bile leakage, but this too lacks practicality, can be done
only in selected centers, and does not reliably indicate the anatomic site of bile leakage.
98
Abdominocentesis reveals a yellowish-orange or golden-green effusion. Cytologic evaluation usually
discloses a modified or exudative effusion with many neutrophils, macrophages, erythrocytes, and variable
numbers of bilirubin crystals (Fig. 90-11). Given that yellow discoloration of effusion is expected in a
jaundiced animal, effusion color alone cannot be used as definitive evidence of bile peritonitis. The presence
of bile crystals and a very high fluid bilirubin concentration in relation to serum are useful in confirming
the diagnosis. The presence of bacteria is confirmed using a Wright-Giemsa's or new methylene blue stain.
Thereafter, Gram stain elucidates bacterial morphology and the presence of sporulated anaerobes, which can
greatly facilitate initial antimicrobial selection. Aerobic and anaerobic cultures of abdominal effusion should
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be collected and immediately submitted when bile peritonitis is suspected, irrespective of whether bacteria
have been observed. Antimicrobial therapy is indicated when this diagnosis is considered probable.
Fig 90-11 Photomicrograph showing cytologic features of an abdominal
effusion observed in a dog with septic bile peritonitis. Neutrophils,
macrophages, erythrocytes, intracytoplasmic large Gram stain
positive rod-form bacteria, and golden bilirubin crystals were
observed (Wright-Giemsa, 680).
Therapy
Surgical intervention is indicated whenever bile peritonitis is suspected. The presence of sepsis makes the
situation urgent. Before general anesthesia and laparotomy, the patient must receive aggressive supportive
care, including colloid administration to reinstate deficient oncotic pressure, vitamin K
1
to ensure its
repletion, blood-component therapy to correct acute symptomatic bleeding tendencies, and IV antimicrobials
targeting enteric aerobes and anaerobes derived from transmural enteric translocation. Whether colonic
lavage with nonabsorbable antimicrobials should be routinely enacted remains controversial. Experimental
and clinical evidence in humans suggests that this procedure may reduce enteric bacterial translocation that
predisposes the patient to endotoxemia and septicemia. Neomycin given at 22 mg/kg as a retention (high)
enema may be used up to every 8 hours. At surgery, visual inspection of visceral structures usually reveals
the site of biliary rupture and provides information essential for an appropriate operative approach. If the
gallbladder appears inflamed or devitalized, a cholecystectomy is necessary. If a portion of the common bile
duct is damaged, a biliary diversion such as a cholecystoduodenostomy or cholecystojejunostomy may be
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needed. If the cystic duct is damaged, cholecystectomy is usually done; alternatively, placement of a T tube,
or choledochoenterostomy, may be implemented. A careful and systematic inspection of the biliary tree with
appraisal of its patency and bile fluidity is essential. Choleliths or mass lesions, as well as inspissated bile or
biliary mucoceles, must be removed. Biliary mucoceles are firm conglomerations of bile that lead to
necrotizing cholecystitis (more common in hyperlipidemic dogs such as Shetland sheepdogs and Schnauzers
with hereditary hyperlipidemia); these are associated with a unique kiwi fruit appearance on abdominal US;
these also require cholecystectomy (see Fig. 90-7). Biopsy specimens optimally should be collected from
adjacent and distant portions of the hepatic parenchyma, as well as from representative portions of the
diseased biliary system. Parenchymal samples collected from tissues located distal to the biliary structures
clarify the presence of diffuse and preexisting hepatobiliary disease. Samples should be evaluated for
cytologic and histopathologic features and submitted for both aerobic and anaerobic bacterial culture. During
surgical manipulations, remaining vigilant for an induced vasovagal crisis derived from iatrogenic pressure
on main biliary structures is important. Vasovagal crisis is characterized by hypotension, bradycardia, and
asystole, and correction requires elimination of vagal stimulation (relief of biliary tree pressure or
manipulation) and administration of atropine. A similar response may be noted during cholecystocentesis
when slow penetration of the gallbladder occurs before needle puncture.
Peritoneal sepsis may be apparent at laparotomy by discovery of a notable fetid odor when the abdomen is
first opened. Before abdominal closure, peritoneal lavage with sterile saline is recommended in all cases of
bile peritonitis to diminish chemical peritonitis and to remove bacterial organisms mechanically. Appropriate
antibiotics should be continued for 4 to 6 weeks postoperatively. Repeated administration of blood
components or synthetic colloids may be necessary to correct for bleeding tendencies and to maintain plasma
oncotic pressure during surgery and during the immediate postoperative interval because of prodigious loss
of plasma proteins and fluid into the abdominal cavity. In cases in which surgery is delayed, abdominal
lavage should be aseptically performed to assist in eliminating bile (causing chemical peritonitis) and
infectious organisms.
General Treatment Considerations
Supportive Care
Fluids, Electrolytes, Oncotic Support, and Blood Component Therapy
Initial management of the animal with hepatobiliary infection involves provision of fluid therapy and
correction of electrolyte abnormalities. Polyionic crystalloid fluids are given to correct dehydration
deficits, to cover contemporary losses, and to provide for maintenance needs. A commercially available
colloid (hetastarch, Hespan [Bristol Myers Squibb, New York, N.Y.], or generic) may be used to
reinstate colloid oncotic pressure; however, its use may promote bleeding tendencies because of effects on
platelet aggregation. The author prefers using hetastarch rather than dextran-70 in veterinary patients with
liver disease (subjectively, fewer complications with bleeding tendencies). Blood-component therapy may
be essential during the first several days in treating patients with chronic EHBDO or severe diffuse
parenchymal cholestasis, as well as intraoperatively in patients undergoing surgical resolution of bile
peritonitis and cholecystectomy. If present, hypoglycemia is ameliorated with fluids supplemented to a
2.5% or 5.0% dextrose concentration, as necessary. If hypoalbuminemia, hepatic insufficiency, ascites, or
a tendency for sodium retention exists, attention must be given to avoid sodium loading (use solutions
with lowest sodium content, or prepare a mixed solution combining 5.0% dextrose in water mixed 1:1 v/v
with a balanced polyionic fluid). Judicious supplementation with potassium chloride (use the conventional
90.15.7
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sliding scale for potassium administration) is important, as well as monitoring serum phosphate and
administration of potassium phosphate if serum phosphate is less than 2.0 mg/dl (using a constant rate
infusion, provide 0.02 to 0.06 mmol/kg/hr). Close monitoring to ensure repletion of potassium and
phosphate is important because subnormal electrolyte concentrations can have dire metabolic and
physiologic complications in the patient with liver disease. Low potassium can promote
hyperammonemia, anorexia, weakness, enteric ileus, and hyposthenuria that can aggravate electrolyte
wasting. Hypophosphatemia can lead to metabolic encephalopathy, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea,
weakness, ataxia, hemolysis, rhabdomyolysis, and bleeding tendencies (platelet dysfunction). Careful
sequential monitoring of electrolytes is important to avoid over-supplementation with either electrolyte.
Potassium should never be given IV at a rate exceeding 0.5 mEq/kg/hour.
Bleeding Tendencies
Vitamin K
1
should be administered by subcutaneous injection in patients with jaundice, whether caused
by EHBDO or chronic diffuse cholestasis and whether patients are displaying bleeding tendencies.
Vitamin K supplementation has particular relevance in patients with overt bleeding or prolonged
coagulation times (see Table 90-5). Coagulation assessments include a thorough physical assessment for
bleeding tendencies (including careful inspection of retina, oral cavity, prepuce and penis, vulvar mucosa,
as well as more easily inspected cutaneous surfaces), bench coagulation tests (prothrombin time and
activated partial thromboplastin time assessments), and a buccal mucosal bleeding time (longer than 5
minutes is abnormal). Unfortunately, routinely evaluated clotting tests are relatively insensitive for
detecting clinically relevant bleeding tendencies. The author prefers using the PIVKA (proteins invoked
by vitamin K antagonism) clotting test to most routinely performed bench assessments because PIVKA
clotting times have higher sensitivity for detecting compromised clotting.
26,27
Increased PIVKA clotting
times appear to develop rapidly in cholestatic liver disorders treated with long-term oral antimicrobials,
possibly because of synergistic influences, including suppression of enteric microbial vitamin K synthesis,
impaired enteric vitamin uptake (caused by lack of sufficient alimentary bile), and compromised hepatic
rejuvenation of active vitamin K. Cats appear to have increased risk.
25
Bleeding tendencies may be recognized before or appear only during invasive procedures (surgery, tru cut
needle biopsy, catheterizations). Treatment requires initiating fresh, compatible blood transfusion and may
benefit from administration of synthetic vasopressin (desmopressin, DDAVP [Aventis, Bridgewater,
N.J.], or generic; 1 to 5 g/kg, subcutaneously, 30 minutes before tissue injury, a one-time-only therapy).
Fresh whole blood rather than stored frozen plasma is usually better for patients with compromised liver
function because of the possibility that thrombocytopenia or acquired thrombopathia may contribute to
bleeding tendencies and because ammonia may accumulate in stored blood products. Pretreatment of a
blood donor with DDAVP may augment von Willebrand's factor concentration in the collected product.
Although DDAVP has been observed to reduce pathologic hemorrhage in humans and companion animals
with severe liver disease, the mechanism remains ill defined and is clearly more complex than simple
elaboration of von Willebrand's factor from vascular endothelium and increasing factor VIII.
91,110
Nutritional Support
Nutritional support of the patient with hepatobiliary infections requires provision of a nutritionally and
calorically adequate diet. These animals should not be initially placed on a protein-restricted diet unless
overt signs of hepatic encephalopathy or hyperammonemia (ammonium biurate crystalluria) exist.
Avoiding a negative nitrogen balance is important in the patient with hepatobiliary disease and sepsis
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because this precaution protects tissues from catabolism, provides nitrogen for tissue regeneration and
repair, and protects cats from developing hepatic lipidosis. Anorexia is managed whenever possible using
enteric modes of feeding (e.g., nasogastric, esophageal, or gastric intubation). The use of appetite
stimulants cannot be endorsed (e.g., benzodiazepines, cyproheptadine) because these drugs are
inconsistent in effect and are generally unreliable in establishing adequate energy intake. Furthermore, in
the circumstance of hepatic insufficiency, benzodiazepines are contraindicated.
Although enteral feeding was found to enhance SIBO in dogs with EHBDO, the prerequisite for
correction of biliary tree occlusion in patients makes this complication less important.
34,35
In patients with
uncorrectable biliary occlusion (e.g., cats with intrahepatic ductopenia caused by chronic CCHS), chronic
antimicrobial therapy may assist in protecting the patient against the complications induced by SIBO. Use
of ursodeoxycholate will not solve this problem because this bile acid has limited physiologic influence on
nutrient assimilation compared with the natural primary bile acids. Patients with active pancreatitis may
require enteral feeding via a weighted jejunostomy tube or temporary support with total parenteral
alimentation (TPN). Use of partial parenteral nutrition (PPN) or TPN may be necessary if vomiting is
persistent despite administration of metoclopramide (0.2 to 0.4 mg/kg, subcutaneously or intramuscularly,
every 8 hours or IV constant-infusion drip of 0.01 to 0.02 mg/kg/hr) or ondansetron (0.1 to 1.0 mg/kg
every 12 to 24 hours). Although PPN can be given through a peripherally placed long-line catheter, its use
is restricted to a 5- to 7-day interval. This interval may importantly limit the extent of lean body mass
catabolism during the initial treatment phase. However, after the first week, transition to an enteral
feeding method is recommended. TPN requires placement of a committed central catheter, is costly,
requires close monitoring, increases the risk of iatrogenic hemorrhage and septicemia, and may result in
enteric changes permissive to transmural microbial translocation. Therefore other modes of nutritional
support are more practical, are associated with fewer iatrogenic effects, and are advised.
Caloric intake should achieve at least 70 to 90 Kcal/kg/day optimal body weight in cats and for dogs
should at least meet values for resting energy requirements (99 body weight [kg],
0.67
70 body weight
[kg]
0.75
or 30 + weight [kg] + 70 body weight [kg]). Although adding an illness factor (a constant that
estimates energy needs above resting energy requirements) is commonly recommended, these factors have
been empirically devised (1.2 to 1.6 times resting energy requirements for illness).
Vitamins, Antioxidants, and Conditionally Essential Nutrients
Water-soluble vitamins should be provided at a doubled conventional daily dose, whether the patient is
eating or not, because they are necessary for intermediary metabolism. Antioxidants in the form of
vitamin E and thiol donors (N-acetylcysteine, 140 mg/kg IV; dilute 10% solution 1:1 in saline, administer
through a 0.2 mm filter; subsequent dosing at 70 mg/kg IV up to every 6 hours; or S-adenosylmethionine
20 mg/kg enteric-coated tablets on an empty stomach, orally, once a day) may be advantageous. This
dosage has not been proven but is supported by disease modeling. Furthermore, research shows that
spontaneous necroinflammatory and cholestatic liver disease in the dog and cat are associated with a risk
of low hepatic glutathione (GSH) concentrations. (GSH is the major intracellular thiol antioxidant with
pivotal importance in the liver, which provides GSH precursors for use elsewhere in the body.)
28

Supplementation with L-carnitine has been shown to facilitate hepatocellular regenerations in the
circumstance of severe hepatotoxicity; in this capacity, increased facilitation of fatty acid oxidation may
assist in cell recovery and repair.
29
Comparable studies in the dog and cat have not been undertaken,
although L-carnitine has been proven to increase the metabolic utilization of fatty acids for energy
production in healthy cats.
25
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CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 41 of 47
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Antibiotics
Antibiotics for hepatobiliary infections should possess relevant activity against enteric organisms commonly
cultured from liver tissue and bile (see Tables 90-1 to 90-6).*.
Culture and susceptibility of involved organisms remains the best measure for correct antibiotic selection.
Cytologic evaluation of each sampled tissue and bile may importantly contribute to identification of
infectious agents because a positive culture result may be denied by prior antibiotic therapy or mechanistic
factors interfering in organism growth in vitro. Using a simple Wright-Giemsa's staining procedure,
infectious organisms that are difficult to visualize on routinely prepared histologic specimens may be readily
apparent. Bacterial morphology, including Gram stain characteristics, assists in selecting the initial course of
antimicrobial therapy (seeTables 90-2 to 90-4)..
Satisfactory and clinically effective biliary excretion of many antibiotics is achieved in an unobstructed
biliary system.
163,164
Although selection of an antimicrobial having good penetration into the biliary tract
seems logical (Table 90-6),
145,170
the achieved systemic activity may be most important. Preventing
bacteremic dissemination from the biliary tree to the systemic circulation requires that serum antimicrobial
concentrations achieve effective plasma levels against involved microorganisms, especially aerobes.
Antibiotics with good serum but poor biliary concentrations have proven efficacy in this scenario, preventing
both systemic dispersal and infection of surgical wounds. Use of antibiotics achieving lower relative serum
and yet good biliary levels may not afford comparable protection.
90
Such drugs may not achieve effective
concentrations in bile in the face of cholestasis, particularly considering that the minimum inhibitory
concentration of an antibiotic for a particular microorganism may be many fold higher in bile versus serum.
Although antibiotic prophylaxis cannot likely prevent bacterial invasion in the face of bile stasis, antibiotics
protecting against systemic infection are essential before surgical manipulations in which bacteremia, local
trauma, and infection are unavoidable.
163
Although antibiotics administered during EHBDO do not attain
therapeutic concentrations in bile because of the cessation of bile flow, it has been proven in animal models
and humans with EHBDO that achieving a critical therapeutic plasma concentrations of an effective
antimicrobial before surgical manipulations protects against septicemia and endotoxemia. To eradicate
biliary tree infection in EHBDO successfully, bile flow must be reinstated by removing the obstruction or by
creating a biliary-enteric anastomosis. This augments removal of infectious organisms by the responsive
choleresis concurrent with delivery of the antimicrobial into the biliary compartment. Immunocompromised
patients and those with uncorrectable diffuse disease involving the intrahepatic biliary tree (e.g., certain cats
with cholangitis causing destruction of small to medium sized bile ducts) will maintain a chronic
predisposition for hepatobiliary infection.
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Table 90-6 Achieved Biliary Concentrations of Certain Antimicrobial Agent in
the Absence of Major Bile Duct Occlusion
a,3,107
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT RATIO OF ANTIBIOTIC BILE/SERUM
Aminoglycosides
Amikacin 0.3
Gentamicin 0.30.6
Kanamycin 1
Streptomycin 0.43.0
Cephalosporins
Cefazolin (first generation) 0.33.0
Cephalothin (first generation) 2.2
Cefoxitin (second generation) 2.8
Ceftriaxone (third generation) 25
Penicillins
Natural Penicillin
Penicillin G 5.0
Penicillinase resistant
Oxacillin >1.0
Nafcillin >100
Aminopenicillins
Ampicillin 1.030
Amoxicillin 130
Amoxicillin, clavulanate 130
Antipseudomonal Penicillins
Piperacillin 1060
Mezlocillin 1060
Ticarcillin NA
Imipenem Minor
Tetracyclines
Tetracycline 232
Doxycycline 232
Miscellaneous
Chloramphenicol 0.21
Clindamycin 2.53
Ciprofloxacin 2.84.5
Erythromycin 825
Metronidazole 1
Trimethoprim/sulfonamide 12/0.40.7
Vancomycin 0.5
a Data derived from experimental literature and from work in human beings.
In the absence of culture and susceptibility, or morphologic features of involved organisms, antimicrobial
treatments should cover aerobic and anaerobic enteric opportunists. A combination of drugs is required.
-lactamaseresistant penicillin, clindamycin, or metronidazole is given IV as a good first-choice antibiotic
for anaerobic organisms. The dose of clindamycin and metronidazole is adjusted for cholestasis and severe
hepatic dysfunction; see later discussion. One of these drugs is used in combination with either an
aminoglycoside or a fluorinated quinolone (e.g., enrofloxacin, orbifloxacin) to achieve efficacy against
aerobic gram-negative organisms. Aminoglycosides should not be given until the patient's hydration status
and prerenal azotemia are corrected. Aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity should be monitored by examining
urine sediment for granular casts on at least an alternate-day schedule.
CHAPTER 90 Hepatobiliary Infections Page 43 of 47
Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
Antibiotics that require extensive hepatobiliary activation, biotransformation, or excretion or those that have
been associated with adverse effects on the hepatobiliary system are considered poor first-choice selections
when liver function is compromised. These drugs include hetacillin, tetracycline, doxycycline, lincomycin,
erythromycin, sulfonamides, trimethoprim-sulfonamide, and chloramphenicol. Severe jaundice argues
against using antibiotics excreted predominantly in bile and that undergo enterohepatic circulation; examples
include chloramphenicol, erythromycin, doxycycline, rifampin, clindamycin, and nafcillin. Use of such drugs
in the face of reduced liver function, especially overt jaundice, necessitates reduction of conventional dosing
usually by as much as 50% (Table 90-7).
3,9
Consultation with a comprehensive pharmaceutical reference is
recommended before adjusting drug doses.
4,146
Tetracyclines are best avoided unless specific therapy is
indicated (e.g., rickettsial infections, clearing leptospirosis) because of their inhibitory influence on egress of
triglycerides from the hepatocyte (promotes hepatic lipid accumulation in all species studied) and because
tetracyclines have experimentally induced hepatic encephalopathy in dogs with portosystemic shunts. When
circumstances warrant using contraindicated drugs, Table 90-6 should be consulted for cases in which
recommendations have been derived from multiple references pertinent to humans, considering the lack of
information for animals.
Table 90-7 Influence of Hepatic Disease on Disposition of Selected
Antimicrobials in Humans with Severe Hepatic Disease,
Insufficiency
3, 9
ANTIBACTERIALS PLASMA CLEARANCE VOLUME OF DISTRIBUTIONHALF-LIFE
Amikacin 200% No change
Ampicillin No change 46%200% 30%45%
Carbenicillin 90%
Cefoperazone 040% 150% 200%
Cefotaxime 30%40% Increased
Chloramphenicol 65%70% 20% 130%150%
Clindamycin 25%60% 40% 15%40%
Erythromycin 30% 50% 60%65%
Gentamicin No change 85%
Metronidazole No change No change 40%150%
Mezlocillin 50% 170%
Norfloxacin No change No change
Pefloxacin 70% 20% 255%
Vancomycin 70% No change 130%
Prophylactic treatment with a best-guess antimicrobial combination is recommended for biliary obstruction
and known or suspected bacterial infection, both before and during surgery. Given that this approach
diminishes the ability to culture involved organisms from surgical specimens, presurgical hepatic-bile
aspiration and preparation of bile and tissue imprints for cytologic evaluation (including Gram staining)
becomes imperative. Antibiotic administration is necessary until biliary tree obstruction and cholestasis have
been eliminated (e.g., when EHBDO or specific infection of the biliary tree has been resolved) or may be
continued as part of chronic medical therapy.
Bacterial enteric translocation is known to be reduced by long-term administration of antibiotics suppressing
aerobic intestinal flora. In humans, fluorinated quinolones are used most often for this purpose in cirrhosis.
Predisposition to enteric bacterial translocation during surgery (e.g., cholestasis, chronic liver disease) is also
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diminished in humans by orally administered neomycin, fluoroquinolones, polymyxin B, or tobramycin. This
effect has not been studied in veterinary patients.
* References: 3, 4, 9, 50, 145, 146, 160, 161
References: 3, 4, 9, 24, 50, 145, 146
Probiotics And Nondigestible Carbohydrates
An alternative nonantibiotic approach, microbial interference therapy, is receiving greater attention in human
medicine owing to the increasing appearance of antibiotic-resistant enteric microorganisms. Such therapy
involves maintaining or restoring health by introducing live nonpathogenic microorganisms from a probiotic to
ostensibly stabilize the balance of intestinal flora. This concept is based on experimental work indicating that
certain probiotics can reduce intestinal bacterial overgrowth, improve local immunologic host defenses,
increase enteric and splanchnic neutrophil phagocytic function, inhibit enterovirulence of natural gut microbes,
and reduce enteric bacterial translocation (modeled in rodents). Consequently, probiotics are claimed to reduce
the risk of spontaneous infection in patients with chronic liver disease associated with portal hypertension,
ascites, and cholestasis.
Bacteria considered host beneficial include bifidobacteria, eubacteria, and lactobacilli; and when these are
combined with a fermented carbohydrate, they are referred to as liver probiotics. Whether they provide a
reliable benefit remains controversial. Lactobacilli are considered an integral part of normal enteric
microecology and have received the greatest investigation. These organisms have been capitalized on for their
demonstrated effects on local enteric flora, immune response, and host metabolism. Adherence of lactobacilli to
enterocyte receptors can induce expression of genes coding for variants of intestinal mucins that inhibit
adherence of enteropathogens (e.g., E. coli).
105
They also produce antimicrobial effects through production of
bacteriocin and metabolic end products, demonstrated in animals and humans. However, an important point to
recognize is that different lactic acid bacterial strains have very different probiotic effects such that results
obtained with a single strain cannot be universally expected for all others. Although use of probiotics to reduce
opportunistic gram-negative and anaerobic enteric microorganisms is widely proposed, benefits remain
controversial, and a risk of probiotic organisms achieving opportunistic hepatic or systemic infections
exists.
136,148
Experimental evidence and limited information in humans with liver disease suggest that certain probiotics may
have a prophylactic and therapeutic effect on hepatic encephalopathy and predisposition of patients with acute
hepatic failure or necrosis to endotoxemia or sepsis. They also may beneficially modulate enteric inflammation
co-existent with liver disease. Nondigestible carbohydrates that serve as fermentable microbial energy
substrates are commonly used to ameliorate clinical signs of hepatic encephalopathy. These substances
encourage bacterial nitrogen fixation, acidify the colonic lumen, modulate mucosal and microbial protease
activity, and produce a cathartic effect (from osmotic solute production) useful for controlling SIBO and
eliminating enteric toxins and ammonia, contributing to hepatic encephalopathy. They may also ameliorate
endotoxemia through modifying the enteric microbial ecosystem, reducing the enteric bacterial pool size, or
through a direct antiendotoxic effect.
37,103,149
In this regard, lactulose is the prototype nondigestible
carbohydrate.
45
Oral or rectal administration of lactulose has been proposed as an alternative means of
modulating bowel flora, which may reduce postoperative sepsis. Probiotics combining the benefit of a poorly
digested carbohydrate (by the mammalian host) and a beneficial microbial organism also are available. Many of
these probiotics likely provide a variety of effects, but none have proven efficacy.
37
Based on experimental
work, combined administration of a probiotic and antioxidants may significantly alter pathologic changes,
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encouraging enteric bacterial translocation, by altering the concentration of enterobacteria and enterococci in
the lower bowel, reducing peroxidative bowel wall damage, and reducing endotoxin translocation. Increased
intestinal oxidative damage and bacterial translocation are observed in rats with prehepatic portal hypertension
and EHBDO. Oxidative bowel damage is associated with slow enteric transit time in several experimental
models and has been implicated as a cause of SIBO in cirrhotic humans.
30,130
Proclivity for enteric bacterial
translocation (using this model) is reduced with a variety of antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E,
allopurinol (50 mg/kg twice weekly), and glutamine (1 gm/kg per day) as a means of promoting enterocyte
metabolism and cell size.
32,150,151
Surgery
Laparotomy may be required to alleviate the source of hepatobiliary sepsis. Surgical intervention becomes
imperative when hepatobiliary abscesses cannot be effectively managed by US-guided drainage and
antimicrobial therapy and in the circumstances of septic peritonitis, bile peritonitis, or major bile duct
occlusion. Hepatic or bile aspirate or biopsy is the only definitive method of confirming an infectious
process. Biopsy of the liver and involved biliary structures is required for definitive diagnosis of underlying
disease. At surgery, the abdominal viscera should be inspected for a primary disease process. Mesenteric and
hepatic lymph nodes should be visualized and biopsy specimens taken for histologic evaluation and culture,
especially if a primary diagnosis remains uncertain. Liver specimens from one or more sites should be
sampled to ascertain disease local to the obvious disease process and to determine whether diffuse liver
disease preceded or evolved from the current condition. If entire lobes of liver appear involved in an abscess
or appear necrotic, they should be resected. Infarcted or devitalized areas should be manipulated minimally
before resection. Venous outflow from such tissue should be ligated as early in resection as possible to avoid
systemic dispersal of noxious substances (e.g., endotoxin, bacterial products, infectious organisms). The
biliary tract should be evaluated for patency by gentle compression of the gallbladder and bile fluidity and
flow determined. The gallbladder and major bile ducts should be carefully palpated for choleliths,
intraluminal or mural masses, and sludged bile. If abnormalities are detected, a cholecystotomy should be
done, a biopsy of the gallbladder taken, and any abnormalities inspected and removed. Biliary mucocele
requires gallbladder resection and removal of tenacious bile from the cystic and major bile ducts.
Extrahepatic bile ducts should be flushed with sterile saline using a soft catheter to remove choleliths and
sludged bile, taking care to avoid peritoneal contamination. In some cases, sludged bile may require
mechanical removal using forceps or a curette. Cholecystectomy is necessary if the gallbladder wall appears
devitalized or involves a suspected neoplasm.
Samples of tissue and bile should be cultured for aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Bile for culture and
cytology should be collected by fine-needle (22-gauge) aspiration into a syringe. The needle should enter the
gallbladder at an oblique angle to reduce postaspiration bile leakage. Using a large syringe and aspirating the
entire volume of bile minimizes postaspiration bile leakage. If cholecystitis or cholangitis is suspected,
biopsy and culture of a portion of the gallbladder wall and liver increases the chance of identifying the
infectious agent. Choleliths also should be submitted for culture.
Cytologic smears should be made from each tissue biopsied and from bile to permit morphologic
characterization of infectious agents and to achieve early recognition of neoplasia. Strict attention must be
paid to the methods of handling and transporting specimens for anaerobic bacterial cultures (see Chapter 33).
Gram staining of tissue and bile imprints guides selection of initial antibacterial therapy. Cytologic
evaluation serves as an important quality control indicator of transport and culture procedures. If organisms
are identified on smears made at surgery and yet are not grown, transport or culture methods were probably
inadequate unless antimicrobial therapy is a complicating factor. If trematode infection is possible, bile and
90.15.8.1
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Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 3rd Edition
feces should be examined cytologically for trematode eggs. Hepatic tissue should always be submitted for
routine histologic evaluation, and the pathologist should be prompted to examine tissues for infectious agents
with special stains.
Hydrocholeresis
After establishing patency of the biliary tract, hydrocholeresis can improve bile flow in patients with
resolved extrahepatic cholestasis, cholelithiasis, or inspissated bile. Hydrocholeresis also improves
mechanical removal of infectious organisms involved in diffuse septic cholangitis. Resolution of bile stasis
assists in clearing biliary infection and reduces the potential for further stone formation. Ursodeoxycholic
acid (see Table 90-5) is used as a long-term therapeutic agent in patients with persistent cholestatic liver
injury. Choleresis is provided in conjunction with maintaining adequate patient hydration, which optimizes
the hydrocholeretic response. In addition to choleresis, ursodeoxycholic acid also provides a large number of
advantageous effects beneficial to chronic cholestatic and necroinflammatory liver disorders (i.e., it has
immunomodulatory, cytoprotective effects for the hepatocyte and biliary epithelium, a choleretic influence,
antiendotoxic, antioxidant, and antifibrotic effects, and importantly, attenuates accumulation of
membranocytolytic bile acids in bile, hepatic tissue, and plasma).
Suggested Readings
*
* See the CD-ROM for a complete list of references.
147. Savary-Bataille, KC, Bunch, SE, Spaulding, KA, et al.: Percutaneous ultrasound-guided
cholecystocentesis in healthy cats. J Vet Intern Med. 17(3), 2003, 298303.
177. Vrs, K, Sterczer, A, Manczur, E, et al.: Percutaneous ultrasound-guided cholecystocentesis in
dogs. Acta Vet Hung. 50(4), 2002, 385393.
Uncited references
39. Cole, TL, Center, SA, Flood, SN, et al.: Diagnostic comparison of needle and wedge biopsy
specimens of the liver in dogs and cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 220, 2002, 14831490.
53. Eich, CS, Ludwig, LL: The surgical treatment of cholelithiasis in cats: a study of nine cases. J Am
Anim Hosp Assoc. 38, 2002, 290296.
96. Konno, K, Ishida, H, Naganuma, H, et al.: Emphysematous cholecystitis: sonographic findings.
Abdom Imaging. 27, 2002, 191195.
111. Mayhew, PD, Holt, DE, McLear, RC, et al.: Pathogenesis and outcome of extrahepatic biliary
obstruction in cats. J Small Anim Pract. 43, 2002, 247253.
127. Owens, SD, Gossett, R, McElhaney, MR, et al.: Three cases of canine bile peritonitis with mucinous
material in abdominal fluid as the prominent cytologic finding. Vet Clin Pathol. 32(3), 2003, 114120.
159. Sterczer, A, Gal, T, Perge, E, et al.: Chronic hepatitis in the doga review. Vet Q. 23, 2001,
148152.
179. Watson, PJ: Chronic hepatitis in dogs: a review of current understanding of the etiology,
progression, and treatment. Vet J. 167(3), 2004, 228241.
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