Traumatic Injuries in 157 Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta): Clinical Presentation, Diagnostic Imaging, Microbiology, and Outcomes

Traumatic injuries cause morbidity and mortality in Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). This retrospective study evaluated 157 turtles at the University of Bari Sea Turtle Clinic from 2015 to 2022; these represented 7.74% of 2028 turtles evaluated. Lesions were classified by site, severity, and chronicity. All turtles underwent radiography; multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) was performed in selected cases. Each wound was swabbed for aerobic bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Lesions involved a single site in 115 turtles (73.2%) and multiple sites in 42 (26.8%); the carapace, flippers, and skull were most frequently affected. MDCT characterized cranial and skeletal injuries and residual flipper vascularization. Cultures yielded 121 bacterial isolates, of which 76 (63%) exhibited a multidrug-resistant phenotype. Overall, 137 turtles (87.3%) were released, 17 (10.8%) died, and 3 (1.9%) were euthanized. In single-site cases, lesion severity was associated with outcome (p = 0.045), whereas anatomical site was not. In multiple-site cases, neither severity nor site was associated with outcome; associations with hook and fishing-line ingestion were exploratory. These findings indicate that outcome may reflect the combined effects of lesion severity and concurrent clinical conditions and support the use of advanced imaging, microbiological investigation, and targeted therapeutic management in sea turtle rehabilitation.