Anal sacculitis (ie, inflammation or infection of anal sacs without compromise of the wall or abscessation of the sac) is common in dogs.1
This retrospective study evaluated intralesional treatment of canine anal sacculitis (n = 33), as well as risk factors for development. Diagnosis was based on clinical signs (eg, licking and dragging perianal region) and supported by the presence of abnormally colored discharge, increased inflammatory cell count, or increased bacterial counts in the discharge. Prior to presentation, 18 dogs received ≥1 course of systemic antibiotics, and 8 dogs were treated with anal sac flushing or infusion. Disease was bilateral in 26 cases.
Treatment consisted of manual expression, insertion of a shortened and lubricated 3.5-French urinary catheter into the anal sac duct, and flushing with a 6-mL syringe filled with sterile saline until the sac was clean. A steroid/antibiotic/antifungal otic solution was administered through the catheter until the sac was full. Treatment was repeated approximately every 2 weeks until anal sac contents normalized.
Average number of treatments was 2.9 (range, 1-6). The clinician considered 24 dogs resolved. Four dogs were considered resolved by their owners alone (resolution was not clinically confirmed). Five dogs did not complete the recommended treatment course. Three dogs that completed the treatment course relapsed and responded well to an additional round of treatment.
Although obesity and poor stool quality have been implicated in development of anal sacculitis,2,3 definitive conclusions about the relationship between obesity and anal sacculitis could not be made, and only 7 dogs had poor stool quality at the time of presentation. Atopic dermatitis was the most common comorbidity.