Pratique des opérations chirurgicales et lutte contre l'infection du site opératoire chez les chiens et chats par les vétérinaires privés du Cameroun

In order to evaluate the practice of surgical operations as well as the means implemented to deal with surgical site infections in dogs and cats, a survey was undertaken from January to May 2017 in 19 veterinary clinics of Cameroon, including seven in Douala and 12 in Yaounde. Data collection using the questionnaire was supplemented by a retrospective study over a five-year period. Surgical treatment of accidental wounds (38.60%) and the convenience surgeries (22.31%) represents the operations most carried out on the 800 indexed cases. The realization of convenience operations (sterilization and esthetic surgery) varies significantly from one species to another (P = 0.00), sterilizations being more realized in the cat. The most commonly used aseptic molecule remains polyvidone-iodine (66.62%). The surgical use of antibiotics is inappropriate and abusive, and varies significantly from one city to another (P = 0.00). The most widely used antibiotic molecules are the penicillin-streptomycin combination and the sulfamethoxypyrydazine-trimethoprim combination accounting for 46.06% and 9.32% of common uses, respectively. The incidence of surgical complications was 6.58%; dehiscence and surgical site infections being the most recurrent complications. The anesthetic mortality rate was 0.63%. This study suggests that emphasis be placed on aseptic measures and postoperative follow-up, and better use of antibiotics for surgical prophylaxis.