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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Urine test helps diagnose histoplasmosis in cats with infection signs

By Cook, Audrey K et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2012·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Clinical evaluation of urine Histoplasma capsulatum antigen measurement in cats with suspected disseminated histoplasmosis.

Species:
cat

Plain-English summary

A group of cats showing signs of illness was tested for a fungal infection called histoplasmosis. Researchers found that a urine test for the Histoplasma capsulatum antigen was positive in 17 out of 18 cats that were later confirmed to have the disease through other methods. This suggests that the urine test could be a helpful tool for veterinarians in diagnosing histoplasmosis in cats.

People also search for: cat histoplasmosis symptoms · cat urine test for fungal infection · how to treat histoplasmosis in cats

Abstract

Diagnosis of Histoplasma capsulatum infection in cats traditionally relies upon identification of organisms in circulating monocytes or in tissue specimens from affected organs. In this retrospective study, results of a urine antigen assay were compared with standard diagnostic methods in cats with clinical signs suggestive of histoplasmosis. Antigenuria was detected in 17/18 cats with a histopathologic or cytopathologic diagnosis of histoplasmosis. This preliminary evaluation of the Histoplasma urine antigen test suggests it may be a useful aid in diagnosing this disease in cats.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22628269/