Occurrence of canine urolithiasis in Thrissur district, its medical and surgical management, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic analysis of uroliths

Fifteen dogs presented over a period of twelve months to University Veterinary Hospitals at Mannuthy and Kokkalai, with symptoms of obstructive urolithiasis were included in the study. Every animal had a history of difficulty in urination, accompanied by clinical manifestations such as pollakuria, stranguria and haematuria. Depending on the location of obstruction, either a urethrotomy, cystotomy or a combination of both were opted as the surgical method, performed under general anaesthesia. Depending on the condition of the patient, postoperative pH modulators, antispasmodics, antibiotics and analgesic therapy were prescribed. All the animals recovered uneventfully. The calculi retrieved through surgery were subjected to Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) to identify the chemical composition. Nine samples were identified as struvite and five were calcium oxalate monohydrate and one sample was a mixture of struvite and ammonium urate. Identification of the specific composition of calculicalculus using spectroscopy was helpful in preventing the recurrence of the condition by management practices and postoperative therapeutic diet. The study failed to establish any correlation between the calculi composition and the various risk factors considered in this study.