Prevalence and impact of cholecystitis on outcome in dogs with gallbladder mucocele.

Background: Gallbladder mucocele is a potentially life-threatening extrahepatic biliary disease in dogs. The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of cholecystitis in dogs with gross and histopathologically confirmed gallbladder mucocele and to investigate if there is an association between cholecystitis, including its subtypes (eg, acute, acute on chronic, with necrosis, chronic), and survival. Our secondary objective was to evaluate if there is an association between cholecystitis and intraoperative bacteriological culture positivity.

Key Findings: Two hundred nineteen dogs with gallbladder mucocele were included in this multi-institutional retrospective study, of which 63 (28.8%) dogs had histopathological evidence of cholecystitis. The most common forms of cholecystitis were acute on chronic (n = 22/63, 34.9%) and with necrosis (n = 20, 31.7%). Thirty-one (14.1%) dogs had growth of at least 1 bacterial isolate; however, 88.7% had antimicrobials administered within the 48 hours before surgery or intraoperatively. There was not an association between cholecystitis or its subtypes and survival. Furthermore, there was not an association between cholecystitis and intraoperative bacteriological culture positivity. A total of 38 (17.4%) dogs either died or were euthanized during hospitalization.

Significance: Cholecystitis is a common comorbidity in dogs with gallbladder mucocele but was not associated with decreased survival.