1,721,013 research outputs found
Patologia clinica del cane e del gatto : approccio pratico alla diagnostica di laboratorio
No full textHaematological and biochemical abnormalities in canine blood : frequency and associations in 1022 samples
No full textSubmission of blood samples to referral laboratories is very common in veterinary practice. Internal reference ranges should take into account published ranges adapted to the methods and apparatus used and to the population under consideration. The aim of this study was to examine the results from 1022 consecutive canine blood tests, analysing the frequency and the main associations of abnormalities, and to compare the results in different age groups. Haemograms and serum biochemistry were compared with internal ranges and between age groups: younger than one year, one to eight years and older than eight years. Young dogs exhibited lower numbers of erythrocytes and lower values for haemoglobin concentration and packed cell volume. They also showed higher numbers of lymphocytes and higher concentrations of phosphorus and 71 per cent showed raised alkaline phosphatase. Neutrophilia, hypergammaglobulinaemia and hypoalbuminaemia occurred quite frequently in all dogs, and hypoalbuminaemia and hyperphosphataemia were commonly seen in uraemic patients. The simultaneous evaluation of cytolytic and hepatobiliary enzymes allowed better detection of liver damage, since only a very low percentage of dogs had simultaneous increases in all hepatic enzymes
Accuracy of effusion cytology in the detection of papillary carcinoma of the ovary in dogs
No full textSensitivity of tru-cut and fine needle aspiration biopsies on liver and kidney for diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis
No full textBackground: The detection of typical lesions and feline coronavirus (FCoV) antigen in tissues is the only conclusive method for making a diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). A positive result using Tru-cut biopsy (TCB) and fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) has high diagnostic specificity, but information about the capacity of these techniques to correctly identify cats with FIP lesions is not available. Objectives: The diagnostic sensitivity of TCB and FNAB for detecting liver and kidney histologic lesions caused by FIP was evaluated. Methods: TCB and FNAB specimens collected mainly at necropsy from 25 cats with FIP were analyzed. Diagnostic sensitivity was calculated on the basis of the number of false-negative and true-positive specimens, compared with the number of organs bearing histologic lesions of FIP. Results: Diagnostic sensitivity was higher for hepatic TCB (64%) and FNAB (82%) than for renal (39% and 42%, respectively) procedures. A high percentage of renal cytologic and TCB specimens were inadequate. Combined analysis of TCB and FNAB specimens collected from the same organ increased the diagnostic sensitivity for liver (86%) and kidney (48%). The sensitivity of immunohistochemical/cytochemical analysis was low (11-38% depending on the technique), probably due to variable distribution of feline coronavirus in the lesions. Conclusion: Biopsy of liver and kidney can correctly identify FIP lesions. However, false-negative results or inadequate samples occur with moderate frequency, especially for immunochemical analysis. Diagnostic sensitivity may be increased when both TCB and FNAB specimens from the same organ are examined
Diagnostic accuracy of cytologic examination of canine and feline mediastinal masses : retrospective study on 55 cases
No full textEvaluation of proteinuria in cats: comparison between Coomassie Brilliant Blue and Pyrogallol Red Molybdate
Full text linkPyrogallol Red Molybdate (PRM) is the commonest assay used for evaluation of the concentration of feline urinary protein (UP). The use of Coomassie Brillant Blu (CBB) assay is also reported but data about method-dependent differences and analytical variability are lacking. Therefore, the aims of this study were to compare UPs and urinary protein:creatinine (UPC) ratios recorded with PRM and CBB and to evaluate intra-assay imprecision of creatinine, proteinuria and UPC ratio of both methods in cats.
Urine samples were collected from 58 client-owned cats by ultrasonographically-guided cystocentesis and centrifuged within 30 minutes. Due to the analytical nature of this study, samples were included irrespective of results of sediment or of underlining diseases.
Creatininuria was measured with the modified Jaffè method and UPs with PRM and CBB in triplicate. The mean values were used to calculate UPC ratios. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed to investigate the differences between UP obtained with PRR and CBB and between calculated UPC ratios. Correlation between methods was assessed with the Spearman test and agreement with Passing-Bablok and Bland-Altman tests.
Intra-assay coefficients of variations (CV) were calculated in 15 samples by 20 repeated measurements of creatinine and of UPs (with both methods). The Spearman test was used to investigate the correlation between mean UPs and intra-assay CVs for PRM and CBB.
Concordance between UPC ratios of both methods in classifying patients as proteinuric (P, UPC ratio 0,4) was assessed using Cohen’s k coefficient test.
UPs assayed with PRM and CBB ranged from 6,2 to 193,6 mg/dL (median 28,8 mg/dL) and from 8,9 to 325,4 mg/dL (median 61,6 mg/dL), respectively, and creatinine concentration from 28,2 to 934,2 mg/dL (median 199,3 mg/dL).
Proteinuria and UPC ratio showed statistically significant differences between methods (p<0,0001 for both) with higher values recorded using the CBB method. Agreement between methods showed constant and proportional error for protein quantification. The two methods were correlated for both UP and UPC (p<0,0001).
All intra-assay CV were <10%. No correlations were found between the mean UP and the intra-assay CV for both PRM and CBB.
Concordance in classifying samples according to IRIS sub-staging was moderate (k=0,476).
Coomassie Blu method was accurate and precise at any level of proteinuria but the higher UPC obtained with CBB compared to PRM may affect interpretation and clinical decisions according to the IRIS guidelines
Pericardial lymphoma in seven cats
No full textA presumed primary pericardial lymphoma was diagnosed in seven cats. Clinical findings at presentation included poor body condition, dehydration and dyspnoea. Thoracic diagnostic imaging was performed in six cases and revealed pleural effusion and a diffuse thickening of the pericardium. A cytological diagnosis of lymphoma was obtained in six cases; in four cases the diagnosis was confirmed at necropsy. Immunophenotyping was performed in six cases: three cases were classified as T-cell and three as B-cell lymphoma. Four cats did not receive any treatment. One cat received only prednisone and two cats received chemotherapy. Six cats lived 7-11 days, except for one cat that received a multi-drug chemotherapy protocol and was still alive at the time of writing (750 days after diagnosis). Primary pericardial lymphoma is a rare extranodal feline lymphoma that has never been described previously
Paratracheal cervical mass in a dog
No full textA 14-year-old female Welsh Terrier was presented for evaluation of multiple skin masses. Two of them were diagnosed as a follicular (epidermal) cyst and a sebaceous epithelioma by cytology and histopathology. The third mass was located in the subcutis adjacent to the cervical trachea. Clinical findings, thoracic radiography, and laboratory results were otherwise unremarkable. Cytologically, the cervical mass was characterized by the presence of round to polygonal cells with distinct cell borders, mild to moderate anisocytosis, round to oval eccentric nuclei with prominent nucleoli, and a variable amount of finely granular, eosinophilic cytoplasm. Differential diagnoses included endocrine/neuroendocrine tumors such as thyroid adenocarcinoma, medullary thyroid carcinoma, carotid body chemodectoma, and parathyroid carcinoma. The mass was removed surgically and submitted for histopathologic and immunohistochemical examination. Histologically, the mass was composed of rows and nests of densely packed cells separated by thin fibrovascular stroma. Neoplastic cells had moderate to large amounts of pale eosinophilic dusty or finely vacuolated cytoplasm and round to oval nuclei with finely dispersed chromatin and 1 or 2 small nucleoli. On immunohistochemistry, neoplastic cells were positive for chromogranin A, calcitonin, and neuron-specific enolase, and were negative for cytokeratin and thyroglobulin. The final diagnosis was medullary thyroid carcinoma, an uncommon endocrine tumor of dogs that has cytologic and histopathologic features similar to other endocrine and neuroendocrine tumors. Immunohistochemistry or immunocytochemistry should be performed to differentiate medullary thyroid carcinoma from other endocrine/neuroendocrine tumors of dogs. (Bertazzolo W, Giudice C, Dell'Orco M, Caniatti M. Paratracheal cervical mass in a dog [medullary thyroid carcinoma]
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