RESUMEN

Introduction: Urinary incontinence (UI) consists of involuntary leakage of urine during the storage phase of urination. Methods: An anonymous survey was given to Spanish and Italian veterinarians about canine UI treated cases, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and professional interest. Results and discussion: Most veterinarians treated ≤3 cases/quarter, resulting in the percentage of incontinence males being lower than that of females (1-4% vs 0-24%). The percentage of spayed incontinent females was lower in Spain (0-24%) than in Italy (75-100%). Most diagnoses were based on a diagnostic algorithm (Spain: 88.7%; Italy: 65.3%); patient report and history, blood work, urinalysis and abdominal ultrasound. Urethral/bladder pressure measurement was unusual (Spain: 0.2%; Italy: 2.4%). In Spain, radiology with contrast medium and CT urography (26.3% and 34.4%, respectively) were more frequent than in Italy (11.6% and 22.7%, respectively). When suspecting urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence pharmacological trial (Spain: 93.2%; Italy: 78.9%). The first-choice medical treatment was Phenylpropanolamine, followed by Ephedrine and Deslorelin. When pharmacotherapy failed, the most frequent option was drug change, followed by increased drug dosage/frequency of administration, surgical therapy and colposuspension. A review was completed after the first week of treatment followed by periodic reviews. Most of the respondents participated in continuing education only if UI occurred in their everyday practice (Spain: 63.0%; Italy: 55.4%) and about 30% responders did it regardless of the number of UI cases treated (Spain: 30.5%; Italy: 37.4%). Conclusion: Some recommendations in clinical practice were made. UI can be underestimated by owners; therefore, a complete history should be obtained by veterinarians. Veterinarians should carefully evaluate if spaying is advisable considering it could increase UI risk. A step-by-step approach is recommended and a specific diagnostic-therapeutic algorithm for UI in dogs is provided. Conservative approaches (regular exercise, weight loss in overweight dogs and observing an "incontinence diary" to identify abnormal patterns of urination) are advisable.