Measuring the Level of Agreement Between Cloacal Gram's Stains and Bacterial Cultures in Hispaniolan Amazon Parrots (Amazona ventralis)

Cloacal or fecal Gram's stains and bacterial cultures are routinely performed during avian physical examinations to assess the microbial flora of the gastrointestinal tract. Although cloacal or fecal Gram's stains and bacterial cultures are considered routine diagnostic procedures, the lev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of avian medicine and surgery 2014-12, Vol.28 (4), p.290-296
Main Authors: Evans, Erika E, Mitchell, Mark A, Whittington, Julia K, Roy, Alma, Tully, Thomas N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amazona ventralis
avian
Aviculture
Bacteria
Birds
Brevibacterium
cloaca
Corynebacterium
culture
Enterococcus
Escherichia coli
fecal
Gastrointestinal intubation
Gram negative bacteria
Gram positive cocci
Gram's stain
Health aspects
Hispaniolan Amazon parrots
Identification and classification
Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms)
Original Studies
Parrots
Physiological aspects
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Summary:Cloacal or fecal Gram's stains and bacterial cultures are routinely performed during avian physical examinations to assess the microbial flora of the gastrointestinal tract. Although cloacal or fecal Gram's stains and bacterial cultures are considered routine diagnostic procedures, the level of agreement between the individual tests has not been determined. To investigate the level of agreement between results from Gram's stain and bacterial culture when used to assess cloacal or fecal samples from psittacine birds, samples were taken from 21 clinically healthy Hispaniolan Amazon parrots (Amazona ventralis) and tested by Gram's stain cytology and bacterial culture. Most bacteria (97.2%) identified by Gram's stain were gram positive. However, gram-negative organisms were identified in 7 of 21 (33.3%; 95% confidence interval: 13.3%–53.3%) birds. Escherichia coli was the only gram-negative organism identified on culture. Agreement between results of Gram's stain and culture was fair (weighted κ = 0.27). The results of this study suggest that Gram's stains and bacterial culture may need to be performed with a parallel testing strategy to limit the likelihood of misclassifying the microbial flora of psittacine patients.
ISSN:1082-6742
1938-2871
DOI:10.1647/2012-042