Case-control study of risk factors associated with isolation of Salmonella saintpaul in hospitalized horses.

In an investigation of a 1981-1982 outbreak of nosocomial Salmonella saintpaul infection in hospitalized horses at the University of California Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in Davis, California, a case-control study was performed using data gathered from the records of 33 cases and 132 controls. Multiple logistic regression risk analysis was used to identify factors associated with isolation of the organism, controlling for the effects of other, possibly confounding variables. Horses receiving parenteral antibiotics were at 10.9 times greater risk of having S. saintpaul isolated than were horses not receiving parenteral antibiotics. Horses intubated with nasogastric tubes were 3.9 times more likely to have had the organism isolated from fecal specimens than horses not intubated, and horses with a presenting complaint of colic were at 2.2 times greater risk of isolation than horses with other presenting complaints.