Prognostic Role of Red Cell Distribution Width and Other Routine Clinico-Pathological Parameters in Dogs with Acute Pancreatitis.

This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of red cell distribution width (RDW) RDW-to-calcium ratio (RDW/Ca), neutrophils-to-lymphocytes ratio (N/L), platelets-to-lymphocytes ratio (P/L) and other easy to obtain and inexpensive hematological and biochemical parameters in dogs with acute pancreatitis. This is a multicenter, retrospective cohort study including 70 client-owned dogs. The accuracy of clinical and laboratory variables to predict short-term death (i.e., dead by 14 days) was tested by calculating the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC). Independent predictors of death were identified using the multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model. The survival rate was 72.9% (51 dogs) and 19 dogs died within 14 days of admission from AP. RDW and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) had good accuracy to predict short-term dead with AUC of 0.74 and 0.70 at the cut-off of >12.7% and >42 mg/dL, respectively. According to the multivariable model, RDW (hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval [HR, 95% CI] = 5.08, 95% CI = 1.14−22.67; p = 0.03), BUN (HR = 1.00, 95% CI = 1.00−1.01; p < 0.01) and bilirubin (HR = 2.46, 95% CI = 1.38−4.39; p < 0.01) were independent predictors of death. The results indicate that RDW, BUN and bilirubin are useful predictors of short-term death in dogs with acute pancreatitis.

Undifferentiated laryngeal carcinoma with hyaline bodies in a cat.

BACKGROUND: Primary laryngeal neoplasms are rare in cats, with lymphoma and squamous cell carcinoma being the most commonly diagnosed tumour types. These tumours are usually highly aggressive, difficult to treat, and have a poor prognosis. Here an undifferentiated laryngeal carcinoma with hyaline bodies in a cat is reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 13-year-old cat was presented for progressive respiratory signs. Diagnostic procedures revealed a partially obstructive laryngeal mass. Cytology was compatible with a poorly differentiated malignant tumour, with neoplastic cells frequently containing large intracytoplasmic hyaline bodies. After 1 month the patient was euthanised due to a worsening clinical condition and submitted for post-mortem examination, which confirmed the presence of two laryngeal masses. Histopathology confirmed the presence of an undifferentiated neoplasm with marked features of malignancy. Strong immunolabelling for pancytokeratin led to a diagnosis of undifferentiated carcinoma, however, histochemical and immunohistochemical investigations could not elucidate the origin of the large intracytoplasmic hyaline bodies observed in tumour cells, which appeared as non-membrane bound deposits of electron-dense material on transmission electron microscopy. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of primary undifferentiated laryngeal carcinoma in a cat. Our case confirms the clinical features and the short survival that have been reported in other studies describing feline laryngeal tumours. Moreover, for the first time in feline literature, we describe the presence of intracytoplasmic hyaline bodies in neoplastic cells that were compatible with the so-called hyaline granules reported in different human cancers and also in the dog.

A Frailty Index based on clinical data to quantify mortality risk in dogs.

Frailty is defined as a decline in an organism's physiological reserves resulting in increased vulnerability to stressors. In humans, a single continuous variable, the so-called Frailty Index (FI), can be obtained by multidimensionally assessing the biological complexity of an ageing organism. Here, we evaluate this variability in dogs and compare it to the data available for humans. In dogs, there was a moderate correlation between age and the FI, and the distribution of the FI increased with age. Deficit accumulation was strongly related to mortality. The effect of age, when combined with the FI, was negligible. No sex-related differences were evident. The FI could be considered in epidemiological studies and/or experimental trials to account for the potential confounding effects of the health status of individual dogs. The age-related deficit accumulation reported in dogs is similar to that demonstrated in humans. Therefore, dogs might represent an excellent model for human aging studies.