Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal sac in two cats.

This report describes two cases of feline anal sac squamous cell carcinoma. Cat 1 was managed with a multimodal approach combining surgical resection, radiation therapy and systemic therapy (toceranib phosphate; Palladia™) until local recurrence was identified at 236 days postsurgery. At that time, the cat received carboplatin. With the tumour being progressive, the cat was euthanased 552 days post initial surgery. Cat 2 was managed palliatively with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (meloxicam) and supportive medications. Unfortunately, with further decline in quality of life following initial diagnosis, the cat was euthanased 28 days later. Squamous cell carcinoma should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis when a cat is presented for investigation of an anal sac mass.

Myenteric ganglionitis and intestinal leiomyositis in a Jack Russell terrier.

A 9-year, 6-month old spayed female Jack Russell terrier presented with a 3-week history of intermittent vomiting, diarrhoea and weight loss. Serum biochemistry demonstrated severe panhypoproteinaemia, mild hypocalcaemia and mild hypocholesterolaemia, consistent with protein-losing enteropathy. Full-thickness biopsies obtained from the stomach and different sections of small intestine demonstrated histological features of both myenteric ganglionitis and early intestinal leiomyositis. Complete resolution of clinical signs occurred within 1 week of implementing immunosuppressive therapy. At the time of writing, 9 months following diagnosis, the dog remains in remission.

Variability of Symmetric Dimethylarginine in Apparently Healthy Dogs.

BACKGROUND: Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) is a screening tool for early kidney dysfunction and monitoring treatment in cases of chronic kidney disease (CKD). There are no current studies describing the suitability of this test for use with published population-based reference intervals. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To determine the components of biological variability, the index of individuality (IOI), the critical difference between sequential measurements (CD ) and the number of measurements required to assess the homeostatic set point (HSP), for both SDMA and serum creatinine (sCr), in apparently healthy dogs. ANIMALS: Twenty apparently healthy adult dogs owned by clients or staff at a veterinary teaching hospital. METHODS: Prospective, observational study. Blood was collected from each dog on 9 occasions, and SDMA and sCr were measured in duplicate using commercially available assays. RESULTS: SDMA and sCr had intermediate and low IOI values of 0.87 and 0.28, respectively. The CD of SDMA and sCr, was 1.34 µg/dL and 0.89 µmol/L, respectively. The sample numbers required for estimation of an individual's HSP (with 90 and 95% CI) for SDMA and sCr were 8 and 45, and 2 and 12 sequential measurements, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Based on our findings, in comparison to sCr, SDMA is better suited for use with population-based reference intervals. False-negative test results could occur when comparing a single test result from an individual to such intervals. Ideally CD should be used with sequential measurements.