Results of quantitative cultures of urine by free catch and catheterization from healthy adult horses.

This study analyses the differences in bacterial contamination levels between urine samples from healthy horses collected via free catch and catheterization. It found that catheterized samples had less contamination, and in free catch samples, females showed more contamination than males.

Methodology

• The research was conducted with 22 healthy adult horses, comprising 11 males and 11 females.
• Urine was collected using standard methods in two ways – through free catch and catheterization.
• Quantitative cultures of the urine samples were carried out to determine and measure the level of bacterial contamination in them.

Results

• The evaluation of results was based on the count of colony-forming units (CFU) per mL of urine – a standard procedure to measure bacterial contamination.
• All free catch samples had fewer than 20,000 CFU/mL, whilst samples collected by catheterization contained 500 CFU/mL or less.
• The difference in the level of contamination between the two collection methods was significant, with catheterization showing less contamination (P < .005).
• Among the samples collected by free catch, females had significantly higher contamination compared to males (P < .03).
• A variety of bacterial species, including Streptococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sp., Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus spp., Diptheroids sp., Proteus spp., and Enterococcus sp., were found in the samples.
• Many of these samples contained more than one type of bacterial species. These isolates were found to be representative of the typical bacterial flora in the equine urogenital tract.

Significance

• This study sets the baseline for the expected level of bacterial contamination in the urine of healthy adult horses.
• The findings from this research can prove valuable in the diagnosis of urinary tract infections in horses by distinguishing normal bacterial levels from those indicative of infections.