Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Causes and outcomes of blood in chest in cats
By Turner, Rachel & Humm, Karen·Published in The Veterinary record·2024·Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Causes and consequences of feline haemothorax: A retrospective case series.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 25 cats with breathing problems was treated for a condition called haemothorax, where blood accumulates in the chest. Most of these cases were due to trauma, like accidents, and many cats showed signs of increased breathing effort and were anemic. The average hospital stay for these cats was about 5 days, and around 83% of them were able to go home after treatment. This suggests that while haemothorax can be serious, most cats recover well with proper care.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to describe the causes of haemothorax in cats, patient presentation and outcome. METHODS: This was a retrospective study based in a university teaching hospital. The electronic case records of cats presenting with a haemothorax between January 2005 and January 2023 were searched. Cases were categorised into 'trauma', 'neoplasia', 'coagulopathy' or 'other'. Signalment, physical examination, clinical pathology findings, concurrent injuries and diagnostic imaging findings were recorded. The median hospitalisation time was calculated, and survival to discharge was noted. RESULTS: Twenty-five cats were eligible for inclusion. Twenty cases of haemothorax were traumatic in origin, two were neoplastic, two were 'other' and one was coagulopathic. Increased respiratory rate (n = 22) and effort (n = 20) were common, and most patients were anaemic at presentation (n = 16). Common concurrent injuries included pulmonary contusions (n = 15) and pneumothorax (n = 11). The median hospitalisation time for the trauma cats was 5 days (range 1‒15). Overall, 83.3% of the cases survived to discharge. LIMITATIONS: The limitations of this study are related to its retrospective nature and the relatively small number of cats in the study population. CONCLUSION: Haemothorax requiring a thoracocentesis in cats is rare, with trauma being the most likely cause. These patients tend to have concurrent injuries and require ongoing hospitalisation. Owners can be advised that the short-term outcome is generally favourable.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38951033/