Observational study on the prevalence, predisposing factors, diagnosis, treatment, and recurrence rate of feline anal sac disease

Abstract

Currently, a limited amount of information is available regarding (feline) non-neoplastic anal sac disease (i.e. impaction, inflammation, and an abscess). Therefore, the aim of the present observational study was to obtain data on the prevalence, possible predisposing factors, diagnosis, treatment, and recurrence rate of feline anal sac disease. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed among veterinarians throughout the Netherlands and several other countries in Europe. 78 responses were counted, of which 48 (61.5%) completed responses and 30 (38.5%) partial responses. The reported prevalence for anal sac impaction was 0.25%, for anal sac inflammation 0.06%, and for an anal sac abscess 0.07%. Investigated predisposing factors included: gender, castration, age, obesity, type of coat, breed, type of diet, season, and underlying dermatological and gastrointestinal problems. The only category that was indicated by a majority of participants as predisposing factor for feline anal sac disease was age, with a higher prevalence in mature cats. The remaining factors were not considered predisposing factors of feline anal sac disease by the majority of participants. The participants used several different factors for diagnosing non-neoplastic feline anal sac disease. The presence of clinical symptoms, and the size of the anal sac were most frequently used. Also, the nature, consistency, and amount of contents were used relatively frequent, as well as pain and color of the contents. Furthermore, criteria most often used for differentiating between the three types of non-neoplastic anal sac disease included: nature of the anal sac contents, pain during palpation of the anal sac, size of the anal sac, and the presence of draining fistulas in the perianal area. Manual evacuation and treating any potential underlying disease were important treatments for all three types of non-neoplastic anal sac disease. Additionally, flushing the anal sacs and prescribing a systemic antibiotic were often used in case of an anal sac inflammation and an anal sac abscess. The majority of participants indicated to proceed to surgical removal of the anal sacs in case of frequent recurrence of anal sac disease. 61.7% of participants had never executed an anal sacculectomy before and of the remaining participants, 61.1% used the closed technique in case of an anal sacculectomy. Recurrence of anal sac impaction was reported to be 40.5%, of anal sac inflammation 30.1%, and of an anal sac abscess 17.8%. The average period of time until recurrence was 5.4 months for anal sac impaction, 4.6 months for anal sac inflammation, and 4.9 months for an anal sac abscess. Few studies have been performed on feline anal sac disease, therefore there is still much to investigate. Hence, further research could investigate possible predisposing factors, the effect of different treatments, and the rate of recurrence of feline anal sac disease.