USE OF 123IODINE METAIODOBENZYLGUANIDINE SCINTIGRAPHY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF A PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA IN A DOG

A 13-year-old neutered female Yorkshire terrier presented with a history of progressive episodic weakness and disorientation of 4 months duration. Physical and neurologic examinations were normal at presentation. Abdominal ultrasound revealed a mass involving the right adrenal gland. Standard planar scintigraphy was performed at 4, 18, and 24 hours after intravenous injection 185 MBq (5mCi) of ¹²³I-labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (¹²³I-MIBG). An area of focal intense uptake was identified in the area of the right adrenal gland. A pheochromocytoma was confirmed histologically after surgical excision.     

Ocular manifestations of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in dogs

Dogs were examined ophthalmoscopically to determine the prevalence and type of ocular lesions associated with naturally acquired Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). In a consecutive series of 11 dogs with serologically confirmed RMSF, 9 had ocular involvement reflecting various degrees of vascular damage, including subconjunctival hemorrhage, hyphema, anterior uveitis, iris stromal hemorrhage, retinal petechiae, and focal areas of retinal edema and perivascular inflammatory cell infiltrate. The ophthalmic lesions generally were mild, and most resolved without complication after systemic administration of appropriate antibiotics. The high prevalence of ocular lesions in these dogs suggested that critical ophthalmologic evaluation is a useful diagnostic tool for the early detection and management of RMSF in dogs.     

Thrombocytopenia in Cats: A Retrospective Study of 41 Cases

The prevalence of feline thrombocytopenia (<200,000 platelets/L) at North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, from January 1985 to March 1990, was 1.2% (41/3300). Cats were divided into six categories based on clinical diagnoses: 29% (12/41) had infectious disease, 20% (8/41) had neoplasia, 7% (3/41) had cardiac disease, 2% (1/41) had primary immune-mediated disease, 22% (9/41) had multiple diseases, and 20% (8/41) had disorders of unknown etiology. The mean platelet count for all thrombocytopenic cats was 52,000/μL ± 46,000/μL (1 SD) with a range of 1000–190,000/μL. No significant differences were found between groups with respect to platelet count, packed cell volume, or white blood cell count, though anemia and leukopenia were common among the cats as a whole. Bleeding disorders (hemorrhage or thrombosis) were observed in 29% (12/41) of thrombocytopenic cats and were more likely to be associated with neoplasia, cardiac disease, and platelet counts less than or equal to 30,000/μL. Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy was diagnosed in 12% (5/41) of the cats. Infections and/or neoplasia affecting the bone marrow were the most common diseases associated with thrombocytopenia. Feline leukemia virus and myeloproliferative neoplasia accounted for approximately 44% (18/41) of the specific diagnoses in thrombocytopenic cats. (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1993; 7:261–265. Copyright © 1993 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)     

Canine bartonellosis: serological and molecular prevalence in Brazil and evidence of co-infection with Bartonella henselae and Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii

The purpose of this study was to determine the serological and molecular prevalence of Bartonella spp. infection in a sick dog population from Brazil. At the S?o Paulo State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Botucatu, 198 consecutive dogs with clinicopathological abnormalities consistent with tick-borne infections were sampled. Antibodies to Bartonella henselae and Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii were detected in 2.0% (4/197) and 1.5% (3/197) of the dogs, respectively. Using 16S-23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) primers, Bartonella DNA was amplified from only 1/198 blood samples. Bartonella seroreactive and/or PCR positive blood samples (n=8) were inoculated into a liquid pre-enrichment growth medium (BAPGM) and subsequently sub-inoculated onto BAPGM/blood-agar plates. PCR targeting the ITS region, pap31 and rpoB genes amplified B. henselae from the blood and/or isolates of the PCR positive dog (ITS: DQ346666; pap31 gene: DQ351240; rpoB: EF196806). B. henselae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (pap31: DQ906160; rpoB: EF196805) co-infection was found in one of the B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii seroreactive dogs. We conclude that dogs in this study population were infrequently exposed to or infected with a Bartonella species. The B. henselae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii strains identified in this study are genetically similar to strains isolated from septicemic cats, dogs, coyotes and human beings from other parts of the world. To our knowledge, these isolates provide the first Brazilian DNA sequences from these Bartonella species and the first evidence of Bartonella co-infection in dogs.     

Renal adenocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and pancreatic islet cell carcinoma in a binturong (Arctictis binturong).

A 19-yr-old binturong (Arctictis binturong) with acute upper respiratory disease was euthanized. Postmortem findings included hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic islet cell carcinoma, and renal adenocarcinoma with metastasis to the spleen, pleura, and pericardium. A link between primary hepatic and renal neoplasms has been noted in older humans.     

Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and myelofibrosis in a dog

Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and myelofibrosis were diagnosed concurrently in a 10-year-old neutered female Brittany Spaniel. Documentation of gastric ulceration, hypergastrinemia, and gastrin-secreting islet cell tumor with splenic metastases facilitated the diagnosis of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Patchy long-bone medullary sclerosis, nonregenerative anemia and thrombocytopenia, multiple acellular bone marrow aspirates, marked splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis, and acellular core bone marrow biopsy with areas of necrosis and fibrosis supported the diagnosis of myelofibrosis. Despite the medical and surgical management attempted, the dog was euthanatized because of signs of severe intractable bone pain. Myelofibrosis has been documented in association with canine and human neoplastic disease. A direct causal relationship between gastrinoma and myelofibrosis was not clearly established in this instance.     

Fine structure of Henneguya pilosa sp. n. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea), parasite of Serrasalmus altuvei (Characidae), in Brazil

Henneguya pilosa sp. n., a new species of myxosporean from the gill filaments of the white piranha, Serrasalmus altuvei Ramirez, 1965 (Characidae), a freshwater teleost fish collected in the Zoological Garden of the city of Teresina (Piauí), Brazil, is described from light and transmission electron microscope observations. This myxosporean produced small plasmodia (up to 0.2 mm in diameter), each one containing all life-cycle stages of the parasite, including numerous spores. The spores, laterally compressed, averaged 54.2 (52.3-56.0) microm in total length and consisted of two unequal valves adhering together along the suture line and two caudal processes. The spore body measured 21.1 (20.0-23.1) microm in length, 5.9 (5.5-6.3) microm in width, and 2.2 (1.9-2.6) microm in thickness. The two equal ellipsoidal polar capsules of 7.4 (7.1-7.6) microm long and 1.2 (1.0-1.3) microm wide possessed a polar filament with 11-12 (rarely 13) turns. All surfaces of the spores were covered with a tightly adherent complex network of numerous densely ramified granulo-fibrillar masses, the longest measuring 1.5 microm long, observed around the caudal processes. The prevalence of infection was 30%. The taxonomic affinities of this parasite with other of the same genus in freshwater South American fish species are discussed.     

Isolation and identification of Mycobacterium kansasii from pleural fluid of a dog with persistent pleural effusion

A 3-year-old spayed female Whippet was examined for cough and respiratory distress. Lung lobe torsion with pleural effusion was diagnosed, and lung lobectomy was performed. Pleural effusion recurred during the following 27 months; conventional bacteriologic cultures of pleural effusion did not result in bacterial growth. A second lung lobectomy, pleuroperitoneal shunt placement. and pericardectomy were subsequently performed. Mycobacterium kansasii was eventually isolated from pleural fluid and identified by polymerase chain reaction amplification and DNA sequencing. The dog was euthanatized before therapeutic response could be evaluated. To our knowledge, this is the first report of M. kansasii infection in a dog. Additionally, this is the first report of mycobacterial isolation from pleural fluid, and one of few reports of antemortem mycobacterial isolation from a body fluid, as opposed to identification in specimens during histologic examination. Routine bacteriologic culture methods are insufficient to isolate mycobacterial agents, and special methods are indicated in dogs with persistent pleural effusion.