A 5-year-old, intact German Shepherd dog weighing 38 kg was presented with an 18-month history of blood dripping from the tip of the penis. The dog was used as a guard dog, housed indoors, fed a dry dog food and was adequately vaccinated and dewormed. The owner reported that the dog had fallen from a 2- to 3-m high wall approximately 6 months previously and the amount of bleeding had increased since then. The dog had been treated with a combination of antifibrinolytic agents (tranexamic acid) and antibiotics (nitrofurantoin) without improvement in the frequency or amount of urethral bleeding. There was no history of constipation, anuria, stranguria or dysuria. On presentation the dog was bright and alert with no discomfort. Because of its aggressive behaviour, the dog was sedated with intramuscular medetomidine (Domitor®, Pfizer, Italy) prior to physical examination. The dog was mildly pyrexic (40.0°C), but pulse and respiratory rates were within reference ranges. Mucous membranes were pink; capillary refill time was less than 2 s. No significant lesions were detected during inspection and palpation of the penis, although a drop of blood-tinged fluid was observed. Rectal palpation showed a symmetrically enlarged prostate, but signs of pain or discomfort could not be assessed because of the sedation. Haematological examination showed mild thrombocytopenia (107 ¥ 109/L; reference range 143–400 ¥ 109/L) and other haematological parameters were also within normal ranges. Serum biochemical tests showed an increase in lactate dehydrogenase (297 IU/L; reference range 45–233 IU/L), creatinine kinase (174 IU/L; reference range 30–120 IU/L) and albumin (37.1 g/L; reference range 26–33 g/L). Cystocentesis was performed and urinalysis findings were normal except for haematuria. There was no bacterial growth on urine culture. After the examination, medetomidine was antagonised by intramuscular administration of atipamezole hydrochloride (0.2 mg/kg) (Antisedan®, Pfizer, Italy). The differential diagnoses include traumatic, neoplastic, infectious and inflammatory diseases of the kidneys, urinary bladder, urethra, prostate and penis. Prostatomegaly suggests prostatic disease, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatic cysts, prostatitis, prostatic abcessation or prostatic neoplasia.

Blood dripping from the penis of a German Shepherd dog

MILANI, CHIARA;MOLLO, ANTONIO;ROMAGNOLI, STEFANO
2010

Abstract

A 5-year-old, intact German Shepherd dog weighing 38 kg was presented with an 18-month history of blood dripping from the tip of the penis. The dog was used as a guard dog, housed indoors, fed a dry dog food and was adequately vaccinated and dewormed. The owner reported that the dog had fallen from a 2- to 3-m high wall approximately 6 months previously and the amount of bleeding had increased since then. The dog had been treated with a combination of antifibrinolytic agents (tranexamic acid) and antibiotics (nitrofurantoin) without improvement in the frequency or amount of urethral bleeding. There was no history of constipation, anuria, stranguria or dysuria. On presentation the dog was bright and alert with no discomfort. Because of its aggressive behaviour, the dog was sedated with intramuscular medetomidine (Domitor®, Pfizer, Italy) prior to physical examination. The dog was mildly pyrexic (40.0°C), but pulse and respiratory rates were within reference ranges. Mucous membranes were pink; capillary refill time was less than 2 s. No significant lesions were detected during inspection and palpation of the penis, although a drop of blood-tinged fluid was observed. Rectal palpation showed a symmetrically enlarged prostate, but signs of pain or discomfort could not be assessed because of the sedation. Haematological examination showed mild thrombocytopenia (107 ¥ 109/L; reference range 143–400 ¥ 109/L) and other haematological parameters were also within normal ranges. Serum biochemical tests showed an increase in lactate dehydrogenase (297 IU/L; reference range 45–233 IU/L), creatinine kinase (174 IU/L; reference range 30–120 IU/L) and albumin (37.1 g/L; reference range 26–33 g/L). Cystocentesis was performed and urinalysis findings were normal except for haematuria. There was no bacterial growth on urine culture. After the examination, medetomidine was antagonised by intramuscular administration of atipamezole hydrochloride (0.2 mg/kg) (Antisedan®, Pfizer, Italy). The differential diagnoses include traumatic, neoplastic, infectious and inflammatory diseases of the kidneys, urinary bladder, urethra, prostate and penis. Prostatomegaly suggests prostatic disease, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatic cysts, prostatitis, prostatic abcessation or prostatic neoplasia.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/2467169
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