{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T04:05:26Z","timestamp":1773288326001,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,31]],"date-time":"2025-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756598400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Open Access Publication Fund of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation","award":["D22CA-402"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["D22CA-402"]}]},{"name":"Morris Animal Foundation fellowship","award":["D22CA-402"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["D22CA-402"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Idiopathic epilepsy (IE) is a common chronic neurological disorder in dogs, and both its comorbidities and adverse effects of anti-seizure medication (ASM) can markedly reduce quality of life (QoL) for affected dogs and their caregivers. Concurrent conditions such as lower urinary tract infections (UTIs) may mimic ASM side effects or signs of disease progression, potentially leading to inappropriate dose adjustment or treatment discontinuation. This retrospective case series describes eight dogs with IE and Escherichia coli (E. coli) UTI, presenting with suspected worsening of ASM side effects. Reported deterioration lasted 1\u201355 days (mean 31), with behavioral changes (n = 5), lethargy (n = 5), new or worsened ataxia (n = 5), urinary incontinence (n = 3), polyuria (n = 3), polydipsia (n = 2), and additional signs such as weakness, exercise intolerance, panting, and cluster seizures. All dogs showed bacteriuria; urinary specific gravity was 1.020 \u00b1 0.013 (mean \u00b1 standard deviation) [range; 1.002\u20131.042]. E. coli (&gt;106 CFU\/mL) was isolated in all cases. Treatment with amoxicillin\u2013clavulanic acid resulted in clinical improvement within 24\u201372 h; five dogs experienced UTI relapse, again with clinical deterioration. Findings emphasize the importance of recognizing and treating UTIs in epileptic dogs to avoid misinterpretation as ASM toxicity and possible worsening of seizure control. Prospective studies are needed to clarify potential links between ASM, urinary dilution, immune modulation, and infection risk.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15172562","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,1]],"date-time":"2025-09-01T14:02:46Z","timestamp":1756735366000},"page":"2562","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Clinical Deterioration in Dogs with Idiopathic Epilepsy Caused by E. coli Urinary Tract Infection"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Solveig","family":"Reeh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 3559 Hannover, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Teresa","family":"Schmidt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gastrointestinal Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7312-638X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Holger Andreas","family":"Volk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 3559 Hannover, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nina","family":"Meyerhoff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, 3559 Hannover, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"471","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tvjl.2014.09.023","article-title":"A cohort study of epilepsy among 665,000 insured dogs: Incidence, mortality and survival after diagnosis","volume":"202","author":"Heske","year":"2014","journal-title":"Vet. 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