ABSTRACT
CASE SUMMARY: This report describes a 10-year-old female spayed Russian Blue cat presented with a 5 month history of respiratory difficulty. Thoracic radiographs were suggestive of a central airway obstruction. Bronchoscopy revealed a broad-base mass in the region of the carina. Bronchoscopic debulking was performed using a urinary catheter. Histopathology confirmed the presence of a tracheobronchial carcinoma. Survival from diagnosis was 16 months (480 days), over which time the cat underwent three endoscopic debulking procedures in combination with doxorubicin chemotherapy. RELEVANCE AND NOVEL INFORMATION: To our knowledge, this is the first report of a tracheobronchial carcinoma in a cat treated by endoscopic debulking with a urinary catheter and adjuvant chemotherapy with long-term survival time. A review of interventional bronchoscopy performed in humans and in veterinary medicine is described.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To characterize and investigate potential associations between causes of pleural effusion and various clinical factors in a large cohort of affected cats. DESIGN Retrospective case series with nested cross-sectional study. ANIMALS 380 client-owned cats with a diagnosis of pleural effusion from January 1, 2009, through July 14, 2014, for which the cause of pleural effusion had been fully investigated. PROCEDURES Electronic medical records were reviewed and data collected regarding cat characteristics, clinical signs, cause of pleural effusion, treatment, and survival status at discharge from the hospital. Variables were examined for associations with causes of pleural effusion. RESULTS 87 (22.9%) cats died or were euthanized before discharge from the hospital. Congestive heart failure (CHF) was the most common cause (155 [40.8%]) of pleural effusion, followed by neoplasia (98 [25.8%]). Other causes included pyothorax, idiopathic chylothorax, trauma, feline infectious peritonitis, and nontraumatic diaphragmatic hernia. Cats with trauma or feline infectious peritonitis were significantly younger than those with CHF or neoplasia. Cats with lymphoma were significantly younger than those with carcinoma. Cats with CHF had a significantly lower rectal temperature at hospital admission (mean ± SD, 36.9 ± 1.2°C [98.4 ± 2.2°F]) than did cats with pleural effusion from other causes (37.9 ± 1.2°C [100.2 ± 2.2°F]). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Cats with pleural effusion in this study had a poor prognosis; CHF and neoplasia were common causes. Age and hypothermia may be helpful to raise the index of suspicion for certain underlying causes of pleural effusion in cats.