ADMINISTRATION OF VANCOMYCIN FOR TREATMENT OF ASCENDING BACTERIAL CHOLANGIOHEPATITIS IN A CAT

A 12-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat, being treated with methimazole for hyperthyroidism, developed chronic cholangitis with p ortal fibrosis and chronic cholecystitis. The common bile duct was not patent, which necessitated cholecystojejunostomy. Four days after sur gery, the cat developed suppurative cholangiohepatitis caused by a bet a-lactam resistant Enterococcus. The cat's condition was further compl icated by the concurrent development of hypokalemic polymyopathy. On t he basis of minimum inhibitory concentrations, the Enterococcus was de termined to be susceptible to vancomycin and resistant to numerous ant ibiotics commonly used for treatment of infections caused by Enterococ cus spp. The cat recovered without evidence of adverse effects attribu table to vancomycin.