Petunia's Auricular Haematoma and UTI
One thing we swear by is to never think you know it all, or have seen it all. We'd never encountered an auricular haematoma before, and it was actually really interesting to see how the issue was resolved.
Firstly, we'll introduce you to Petunia.
Firstly, we'll introduce you to Petunia.
Arrival:
Petunia secured a spot here with us because she was a lone rat. We really discourage keeping rats alone wherever possible, we knew we could find her some companions here with us.
She was approximately 6 months old when she arrived on the 14th of August 2019. Fortunately, we managed to bond her to our mischief of does and neutered bucks.
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Auricular Haematoma:
- Auricular: relating to the ear and/or hearing.
- Haematoma: localised bleeding outside a blood vessel. Haematomas can occur due to disease or trauma.
It was highly likely that Petunia's haematoma was caused by injury/trauma. We suspected this because she'd only recently bonded to the mischief, and they were still establishing a hierarchy.
Petunia was given some oral Metacam/Meloxicam (NSAID) 1mg:1kg QD and was booked in for admission at the veterinary practice for the following morning.
The vet was able to drain the discharge. Microscopy showed no bacteria were present which ruled out a bacterial infection. The vet was able to drain and tack Petunia's ear whilst she was under general anaesthesia.
The plan was to remove in 7-10 days, provided all was well. It was appropriate to house Petunia in isolated and adapted accomodation to prevent further damage to the ear whilst the drains were in place. It would also reduce the risk of injury and infection.
Unfortunately, attempt one failed. The drain clogged and the ear started to fill again. Petunia was admitted to the vets again.
The vet basically did the exact same thing as before, but with considerably more drains. Over the next week, it was clear the second attempt had been successful at draining the ear. The vet believed the ear refilled due to trauma from both injury and surgery.
By 10 days, Petunia was admitted for the final time to have the drains removed.
Although Petunia's ear has excessive scarring and asymmetry, she is in no pain and it doesn't affect her daily life whatsoever.
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI):
Several weeks later, Petunia developed what appeared to be gross haematuria. We decided to run urinalysis on a sample.
Urinalysis results:
- Glucose: -tive
- Bilirubin: -tive
- Ketones: -tive
- Specific Gravity: 1.020
- Blood: -tive
- pH: 7.0
- Protein: +tive
- Urobilinogen: normal
- Leukocytes: ++tive
Although we're unsure what gave Petunia's urine a blood-red discolouration, urinalysis readings were suggestive of a UTI. As a precaution, we introduced Petunia to a 14-day course of oral Baytril/Enrofloxacin (fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agent) and oral Metacam.
Medicinal input resolved Petunia's UTI. She's now available for adoption with one of her friends, Edie. For more information, visit the 'adoptables' section of our website.
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