Causas de morte e razões de eutanásia em 1.355 cães: estudo retrospectivo (2005-2017)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of diseases that culminated in death or justified the euthanasia of dogs necropsied at the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory of the Federal University of Bahia (2005-2017), as well as the frequency of zoonoses and age of death (AD). A total of 1.355 dog necropsy protocols were analyzed and epidemiological information and anatomopathological diagnosis were obtained. The cause of death could be determined in 86.79% of the cases and in 13.21% the diagnosis was inconclusive. The diagnosed diseases were grouped in 10 categories, being observed the following frequency: parasitic infectious diseases (24.13%), neoplasms (22.58%), degenerative diseases (10.85%), disorders caused by physical agents (8.93%), poisoning and toxiinfections (6.49%), other disorders (5.17%), metabolic and endocrine disorders (4.06%), iatrogenic disorders (2.88%), developmental disorders (1.48%) and immune-mediated diseases (0.22%). Infectious and parasitic diseases were the main causes of death in puppies (44.62%) and adults (26.52%). On the other hand, among the elderly, most deaths were related to neoplasms (42.37%). Canine distemper (10.46%), chronic kidney disease CKD (7,7%), running over trauma (5.98%), pyometra (5.29%), carbamate poisoning (5.06%), canine visceral leishmaniasis (4, 83%), leptospirosis (4.71%) and parvovirus (4.60%) stood out among the most prevalent conditions. There was a high frequency of zoonoses (6.12%) and a high death rate caused by diseases that could be prevented (15.06%) by vaccination (distemper and parvovirus). Of the evaluated animals, 49.96% died, while 48.04% underwent euthanasia, whose main motivation was the neoplasms (30.41%). The AD in the population studied was eight years old, and females and medium sized animals had significantly higher AD. Among the breeds, the Cocker Spaniel had the highest AD (12 years). The results obtained in this study, in particular the knowledge of the main diseases responsible for dog death, may help in the establishment of differential diagnoses, adoption of prophylactic measures, guidance of tutors and training of veterinarians from Salvador and municipalities of the interior of Bahia.