ABSTRACT
A 10-year-old cat was diagnosed with chyloperitoneum based on the effusion characteristics. Feline coronavirus serology was positive. The owner declined further evaluation and elected euthanasia. Necropsy revealed vasculitis with multifocal areas of necrosis and lymphocytic-plasmacytic inflammation in multiple solid organs, most likely due to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Immunohistochemistry was negative for FIP antigen. Notwithstanding, the final diagnosis of FIP was based on the characteristic histopathological lesions. Underlying causes of chyloperitoneum in cats and humans are discussed, and possible pathogenesis of the chyloperitoneum in association with a vasculitis such as FIP is discussed.
Subject(s)
Ascitic Fluid/veterinary , Cat Diseases/diagnosis , Chylous Ascites/veterinary , Feline Infectious Peritonitis/diagnosis , Animals , Ascitic Fluid/pathology , Cats , Chylous Ascites/diagnosis , Diagnosis, Differential , MaleABSTRACT
A retrospective study was conducted to characterize the diseases, clinical findings, and clinicopathologic and ultrasonographic findings associated with hypercalcemia (serum calcium concentration >11 mg/dL) in 71 cats presented to North Carolina State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The 3 most common diagnoses were neoplasia (n = 21), renal failure (n = 18), and urolithiasis (n = 11). Primary hyperparathyroidism was diagnosed in 4 cats. Lymphoma and squamous cell carcinoma were the most frequently diagnosed tumors. Calcium oxalate uroliths were diagnosed in 8 of 11 cats with urolithiasis. Cats with neoplasia had a higher serum calcium concentration (13.5 +/- 2.5 mg/dL) than cats with renal failure or urolithiasis and renal failure (11.5 +/- 0.4 mg/dL; P < .03). Serum phosphorus concentration was higher in cats with renal failure than in cats with neoplasia (P < .004). Despite the fact that the majority of cats with uroliths were azotemic, their serum urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations and urine specific gravity differed from that of cats with renal failure. Additional studies are warranted to determine the underlying disease mechanism in the cats we identified with hypercalcemia and urolithiasis. We also identified a small number of cats with diseases that are not commonly reported with hypercalcemia. Further studies are needed to determine whether an association exists between these diseases and hypercalcemia, as well as to characterize the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism for each disease process.
Subject(s)
Cat Diseases/etiology , Hypercalcemia/veterinary , Animals , Cat Diseases/physiopathology , Cats , Female , Hypercalcemia/etiology , Hypercalcemia/physiopathology , Hyperparathyroidism/complications , Hyperparathyroidism/veterinary , Male , Neoplasms/complications , Neoplasms/veterinary , Renal Insufficiency/complications , Renal Insufficiency/veterinary , Retrospective Studies , Urinary Calculi/etiology , Urinary Calculi/veterinaryABSTRACT
In human patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, cutaneous subepidermal blistering can occur because of the production of antibodies specific for basement membrane antigens. This condition is referred to as bullous systemic lupus erythematosus (BSLE). A dog was diagnosed with BSLE because it fulfilled the following criteria: (i) a diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus by standard methods; (ii) an acquired, vesicular, erosive and ulcerative eruption; (iii) microscopical subepidermal vesicles with neutrophil-predominant inflammation at the dermo-epidermal junction; (iv) deposition of IgG at the epidermal basement membrane zone; and (v) circulating IgG autoantibodies against type VII collagen. Anti-collagen VII type I-BSLE therefore needs to be considered as a possible differential diagnosis for canine autoimmune subepidermal blistering diseases.
Subject(s)
Dog Diseases/diagnosis , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/veterinary , Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous/veterinary , Animals , Autoantibodies/analysis , Collagen/immunology , Dapsone/therapeutic use , Diagnosis, Differential , Dog Diseases/drug therapy , Dog Diseases/immunology , Dogs , Drug Therapy, Combination , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary , Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect/veterinary , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/diagnosis , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/drug therapy , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/immunology , Male , Prednisone/therapeutic use , Skin/metabolism , Skin/pathology , Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous/diagnosis , Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous/drug therapy , Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous/immunologyABSTRACT
The recognition of canine babesiosis in North Carolina caused by Babesia gibsoni documents the expansion of the previously reported endemic area of this disease. Clinical signs ranged from severe hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia to subclinical infections. No infected dogs had traveled to endemic areas. Antibabesial treatment failed to eradicate the organism from infected dogs.
