Cytologic diagnosis of generalized cutaneous sporotrichosis in a hunting hound

A 1-year-old male Foxhound/Walker Hound mix was presented to the small animal internal medicine service at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine with a 6-week history of progressive, multifocal, ulcerative and draining, well-circumscribed lesions in a generalized distribution. Prior to referral, a presumptive diagnosis was made of sterile pyogranulomatous disease; immunosuppressive therapy was instituted but resulted in clinical deterioration. At presentation, the dog had marked neutropenia (1100 neutrophils/microL), and a mild toxic left shift (400 bands/microL). Cytologic findings in the exudates from a draining skin lesion included high numbers of markedly degenerate neutrophils (about 95% of nucleated cells) as well as low numbers of macrophages, small mature lymphocytes, and eosinophils. Low numbers of intracellular (within neutrophils and macrophages) and extracellular, pleomorphic, cigar-to-ovoid shaped organisms ( approximately 3x9 microm) consistent with Sporothrix were observed. Histopathologic examination of a skin biopsy showed marked, chronic, active, ulcerative, pyogranulomatous dermatitis and panniculitis, with intralesional yeast consistent with Sporothrix sp. The etiologic agent was confirmed as Sporothrix schenckii by macerated tissue fungal culture. The patient was treated with itraconazole, enrofloxacin, and clindamycin, with clinical resolution occurring over a 3-month period. This case is a rare example of the cytologic diagnosis of Sporothrix schenckii in a canine patient. Diagnosis of canine sporotrichosis is often challenging and usually requires tissue culture, as infected dogs typically harbor very few organisms. The patient's prior immunosuppressive therapy likely contributed to higher numbers of organisms in exudates from the cutaneous lesions, facilitating cytologic diagnosis.     

Cytologic diagnosis of peritoneal cestodiasis in dogs caused by Mesocestoides sp

Background: Canine peritoneal larval cestodiasis caused by tapeworm larvae of the genus Mesocestoides is an uncommon and possibly fatal disease that can result in ascites and peritonitis. Although abdominal fluid analysis is recommended for dogs with ascites, the cytologic features of Mesocestoides infection have not been described fully.
Objective: Our goal was to describe the cytologic features of Mesocestoides larvae and of associated ascitic fluid that was collected from the peritoneal cavity of 4 infected dogs.
Methods: Abdominal fluid was obtained from 4 dogs with Mesocestoides sp infection. Gross, chemical, and microscopic evaluations of the fluid were performed using standard techniques.
Results: Cytologic findings in 1 dog included intact acephalic metacestodes (larvae without 4 suckers, not tetrathyridia) in various stages of asexual development, whereas fluid from the other 3 dogs contained primarily calcareous corpuscles, remnant tissue specific to cestodes. Abdominal fluid typically was an exudate, with suppuration, hemorrhage, and evidence of necrosis. Total protein concentrations ranged from 2.4 to 5.3 g/dL.
Conclusions: Abdominal fluid cytology was useful in the diagnosis of Mesocestoides larval infections in the peritoneal cavity of dogs with ascites. Observation of characteristic calcareous corpuscles or intact metacestodes can provide a defininitive diagnosis of canine peritoneal larval cestodiasis in dogs.     

猪场爆发猪繁殖与呼吸综合征的临床诊断及实验检测

摘 要: 猪繁殖与呼吸综合征是由猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒(PRRSV)引起的猪繁殖和呼吸道接触性传染病。临床特征为母猪流产、死胎和木乃伊胎增多,仔猪出现呼吸道症状和断奶前死亡率增高以及免疫抑制,严重危害种公猪和繁殖母猪及其仔猪。本文参考 GenBank上PRRSV LV和VR-2332毒株核苷酸序列,设计并合成一对特异性引物,以提取来自贵州某猪场猪繁殖与呼吸综合征疑似病料（包括血液、肝、肺、肾、淋巴结、心、脾组织）的总RNA为模版,应用反转录-聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)方法,经94℃ 预变性2 min;94℃变性45s,60℃退火 1min,72℃延伸1min进行35个循环;72℃ 再延伸10min进行扩增。扩增产物经0.8%琼脂糖凝胶电泳检测,结果表明所扩增的目的DNA条带大小约750bp,与预期大小相似。扩增产物经回收纯化后,应用pMD18－T 载体进行克隆后测序。测序结果表明,所扩增DNA片段大小为739bp,该核苷酸序列与湖南发现的PRRSV序列同源性为100%。本实验说明临床诊断及实验RT-PCR检测方法作为猪繁殖与呼吸综合征的诊断方法是快速有效的,可为猪繁殖与呼吸综合征诊断提供参考依据。     

猪场常见繁殖系统疾病的临床区别诊断

布氏杆菌病、细小病毒感染、猪繁殖与呼吸障碍综合征(PRRS)、猪瘟、猪伪狂犬病、猪乙型脑炎、猪附红细胞体病、衣原体、猪钩端螺旋体及饲料霉菌毒素中毒都共同出现流产症状,同时也有很多不同点。本文根据临床经验,将其归纳整理,系统地比较各病之间的不同点,为临床兽医正确区别诊断这类疾病提供宝贵的经验。     

Allergy diagnosis in companion animals: clinical experience with the basophil activation model

Animal allergy diagnosis is based mainly on clinical history, skin tests and, at least for dogs, specific IgE antibodies. The quality of anti-canine IgE antibodies is variable and monoclonal antibodies have been recently characterized. The allergen panel tested in humans and in dogs is similar except for flea and for Staphylococcus. Allergen-induced basophil activation may be measured by the release of mediators such as histamine and leukotriene C4 and by the expression of the CD63 marker on basophil membrane. This latter method is based on the flow cytometric analysis of leukocyte suspensions after double anti-IgE FITC, anti-CD63 PE labelling of human basophils, and has been validated for aero-allergens, food allergens, venoms and several drugs for human allergy diagnosis. After having demonstrated that, in the dog, anaphylactic anti- bodies were capable of binding to human basophil high-affinity receptors for IgE, we went up a flow cytometric method for animal allergy diagnosis based on passive sensitization of human basophils. Prelim- inary results obtained by this method for allergens such as house dust mite or pollen were very encouraging. This method is faster and less expensive than the methods based on mediator release but is still dependent on the availability of fresh human leukocytes. This method may represent a new sensitive and specific method for animal allergy diagnosis.     

Constructing naive Bayesian classifiers for veterinary medicine: A case study in the clinical diagnosis of classical swine fever

For diseases of which the clinical diagnosis is uncertain, naive Bayesian classifiers can be of assistance to the veterinary practitioner. These simple probabilistic models have proven to be very powerful for solving classification problems in a variety of domains, but are not yet widely applied within the veterinary domain. In this paper, naive Bayesian classifiers and methods for their construction are reviewed. We demonstrate how to construct full and selective classifiers from a data set and how to build such classifiers from information in the literature. As a case study, naive Bayesian classifiers to discriminate between classical swine fever (CSF)-infected and non-infected pig herds were constructed from data collected during the 1997/1998 CSF epidemic in the Netherlands. The resulting classifiers were studied in terms of their accuracy and compared with the optimally efficient diagnostic rule that was reported earlier by Elbers et al. (2002). The classifiers were found to have accuracies within the range of 67-70% and performed comparable to or even better than the diagnostic rule on the available data. In contrast with the diagnostic rule, the classifiers had the advantage of taking both the presence and the absence of particular clinical signs into account, which resulted in more discriminative power. These results indicate that naive Bayesian classifiers are promising tools for solving diagnostic problems in the veterinary field.     

Squash-prep cytology in the diagnosis of canine and feline nervous system lesions: a study of 42 cases

BACKGROUND: The increased sophistication of imaging techniques in veterinary medicine allows the detection of a wide variety of intracranial and intraspinal lesions; however, imaging often does not provide a definitive diagnosis for nervous system (NS) lesions. Cytology is emerging as a useful diagnostic tool for obtaining a fast and accurate assessment of NS lesions, but little information is available for dogs and cats. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of cytologic evaluation of squash samples from NS lesions in dogs and cats and to consider cytology-based diagnostic guidelines and sources of misdiagnosis. METHODS: Cytologic specimens from masses localized in the central and peripheral NS taken during surgery or postmortem examination were classified into 3 groups according to the final histopathologic diagnosis: Group 1 = completely correct diagnosis, when the cytologic diagnosis and final histologic diagnosis were exactly correlated; Group 2 = partial correlation, when the cytologic diagnosis only partially correlated with the final histologic diagnosis, and Group 3 = no correlation, when the cytologic diagnosis was incorrect and there was no correlation with the general histologic type of lesion. The diagnostic accuracy of cytopathology was calculated by considering the histopathologic diagnosis as the "gold standard," and calculating a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: A total of 42 animals (33 dogs and 9 cats) were included in the study. The cytologic diagnoses were classified in Group 1 for 32 cases (76%; 95% CI 0.63-0.89), in Group 2 for 6 cases (14%; 95% CI 0.04-0.25), and in Group 3 for 4 cases (10%; 95% CI 0.006-0.18). Considering both complete and partial correlation as an adequate result, cytologic diagnosis was satisfactory in 90% of biopsies. CONCLUSIONS: Although the current series of cases is relatively small, cytologic evaluation of squash preparations can be considered a fairly accurate and reliable tool in the diagnosis of NS lesions.     

犬黄嘌呤尿结石症的诊断:36例临床病理报告

36只尿石症病犬表现体温下降,剧烈呕吐,食欲废绝,血清尿酸、肌酐、尿素氮升高,尿沉渣中有众多结晶体析出,经尿液和血清生化指标测定、B超探察、X线影像并结合饮食结构调查,确诊为黄嘌呤结石症。     

湖北省禽白血病自然病例的病理学诊断及p53和Bcl-2基因表达情况的观察

应用组织病理学和SABC免疫组织化学技术,对湖北省武汉市的2批14日龄和33日龄疑似禽白血病肉鸡进行了病理学诊断,并观察了病鸡肝肿瘤组织中p53基因和Bcl-2基因的表达情况。剖检可见病鸡肝、肾、脾均不同程度肿胀,组织病理学检查在肝、肾、心等脏器可见散在或聚集成团的骨髓瘤细胞,胞浆内充满球形的嗜酸性颗粒;在病鸡肝肿瘤组织中p53和Bcl-2基因均呈阳性表达,诊断为J亚群禽白血病（ALV-J）,提示p53基因和Bcl-2基因与肉鸡J亚群禽白血病有关。     

Screening a novel class of anticoagulants for multi-organ toxicity using Fischer 344 rats: involvement of clinical and anatomic pathologists in the early drug development process

BACKGROUND: Veterinary clinical and anatomic pathologists play a critical role in assessing the safety of new molecules. The process for evaluation of candidate molecules in drug discovery may vary markedly, depending on the unique characteristics of the compound class. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this report is to describe the evaluation process for assessing the potential toxicity of 2 anticoagulant compounds that were representative of molecules tested in early screening studies in Fisher rats, and to use these studies as an example of the strategic approach used by veterinary pathologists in pharmaceutical safety assessment. METHODS: Groups of 3 rats were given vehicle alone or one of several doses of compound A or B by oral gavage daily for 4 consecutive days. Survival; clinical signs; body and organ weight measurements; hematologic, coagulation, and clinical biochemical testing; and gross and histologic findings at necropsy were assessed. Transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize unique findings in the liver of rats treated with compound B. RESULTS: Both compounds caused dose-dependent prolongation of the prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and thrombin clotting time (TCT). Hepatobiliary and intestinal toxicity were identified by alterations in serum chemistry data, and by histopathologic findings. Electron microscopy and tissue inorganic phosphorus analysis revealed phospholipidosis in rats treated with compound B. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacologically mediated or "on target" effects for these molecules were characterized by dose-progressive prolongation of the PT, APTT, and TCT. Nonpharmacologically mediated or "off-target" toxicity consisted of hepatoxicity and enterotoxicity. These liabilities required that scientists alter the original molecular scaffold to reach the desired therapeutic target and minimize toxicity.     

Comminuted basilar skull fracture in a colt: Use of computed tomography to aid the diagnosis

The case of a one‐year‐old colt with acute onset of neurological dysfunction and epistaxis after a traumatic event is presented. After initiating emergency treatment, the colt was anaesthetised for diagnostic imaging. Radiographic examination of the head was suggestive of soft tissue opacity in the area of the guttural pouches, but was inconclusive about osseous involvement. A computed tomography (CT) scan, used to obtain further details, showed a comminuted basilar skull fracture with 2 displaced fragments that were not detected by radiography. Because of the poor prognosis for survival and return to athletic function, the horse was subjected to euthanasia. CT imaging provided the most useful diagnostic information about type, localisation, extension and severity of the basilar skull fracture.     

High-resolution melt curve analysis: A real-time based multipurpose approach for diagnosis and epidemiological investigations of parasitic infections

BackgroundReal-time PCR coupled with high resolution melting curve analysis is a practical technique that could be employed in multipurpose studies. During the recent decade, this technique has been practiced for different targets, worldwide.MethodsIn the current study three major database centers consisted of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched until Aug 2019 for applications of HRM real-time PCR in parasitology studies using terms: “Parasite” AND “HRM real-time PCR” OR “High Resolution Melting curve analysis” OR “Real-time PCR”, “Protozoan parasites” AND “HRM real-time PCR” OR “High Resolution Melting curve analysis” OR “Real-time PCR”, “Helminth” AND “HRM real-time PCR” OR “High Resolution Melting curve analysis” OR “Real-time PCR”.ResultsTotally, 83 papers met our criteria and were included in our study. This method was more frequently used for protozoan parasites (52/83; 62.65%), while lower (31/83; 37.35%) studies were incorporated on helminths parasites. Furthermore, Plasmodium spp., and Leishmania spp., were the most prevalent protozoan parasites, and Taenia spp., and filers were the most frequent helminths that were studied by HRM real-time PCR.ConclusionHRM real-time PCR is a sensitive, flexible and cost-effective method that could be used for multipurpose studies.     

Performance and rideability issues in horses as a manifestation of pain: A review of differential diagnosis and diagnostic approach

Nonspecific performance and rideability issues are more likely a manifestation of pain in the ridden horse rather than a true behavioural problem. A systematic and thorough investigation focusing on the potential presence of pain-related conditions is thus crucial in horses with such complaints. It can, however, be challenging to determine whether the complaint is indeed related to pain, where the pain is located, and what the underlying cause is. This review describes the challenges of pain recognition in ridden horses and summarises the recently developed ridden horse ethograms that might enable pain to be assessed in an objective, valid and reliable way. Furthermore, the differential diagnosis and diagnostic approach to horses presenting potentially pain-related performance and rideability issues are discussed.     

Three cases of feline ocular coccidioidomycosis: presentation,clinical features,diagnosis, and treatment

Objective To describe clinical and diagnostic features of ocular coccidioidomycosis in cats and the response to fluconazole and anti‐inflammatory therapy. Animals studied Three cats with naturally acquired coccidioidomycosis. Procedure Cats were treated with topical or systemic corticosteroids and systemic fluconazole, an antifungal of unproven efficacy against feline ocular coccidioidomycosis. Results Two cats presented for periocular swellings, either subpalpebral or periorbital, with systemic signs including weight loss, unkempt hair coat, and lethargy. One cat presented for apparent blindness with no systemic signs. Clinical ophthalmologic abnormalities were bilateral in each cat and included hyperemic, conjunctival masses, fluid‐filled periorbital swellings, granulomatous chorioretinitis, nonrhegmatogenous retinal detachments, and anterior uveitis. Cats were diagnosed with coccidioidomycosis using a combination of clinical findings, serology and, in two cases, visualization of Coccidioides spherules by either aspiration cytology or biopsy. Active anterior uveitis and periocular swelling were resolved in all cats during treatment. Chorioretinal granulomas, although persistent, significantly decreased in size. Conclusions Coccidioidomycosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis for cats with a travel history to the southwestern United States that demonstrate periocular swelling, anterior uveitis, or granulomatous chorioretinitis, with or without evidence of systemic disease. Aspiration cytology or biopsy of suspicious conjunctival or skin lesions, if present, may aid in diagnosis. A combination of corticosteroids and fluconazole may be effective in treating ocular coccidioidomycosis, although chorioretinal granulomas may persist and long‐term fluconazole therapy may be necessary.