Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with fungal sinus infection gets better despite fungus staying
By Jack Fawsitt et al.·Published in JFMS open reports·2023·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Clinical remission of feline sino-nasal aspergillosis despite evidence of persistent infection
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old domestic shorthair cat was diagnosed with sino-nasal aspergillosis, a fungal infection affecting the nasal passages, after showing symptoms like nasal discharge and difficulty breathing. The veterinarian treated the cat by carefully removing the fungal plaques and using a combination of a topical antifungal solution and an oral medication called itraconazole for four weeks. While the cat showed improvement and entered clinical remission, a post-mortem examination revealed that the fungal infection was still present, even though the cat had been euthanized for unrelated reasons. This case highlights that even if symptoms improve, it doesn't always mean the infection is completely gone.
People also search for: cat nasal discharge treatment · sino-nasal aspergillosis in cats · itraconazole for cat fungal infection
Abstract
Case summary Feline sino-nasal aspergillosis is a rare condition with only sparse heterogeneous reports in the literature regarding its treatment. This report describes the presentation, treatment and outcome of a cat with sino-nasal aspergillosis treated by meticulous debridement in combination with topical and systemic azole therapy. Diagnosis was based on MRI, in combination with rhinoscopic assessment and visualisation of fungal plaques, followed by histopathology, fungal culture and panfungal PCR. The cat was treated by debridement of fungal plaques via anterior rhinoscopy and frontal sinusotomy and local instillation of 1% clotrimazole solution, followed by a 4-week course of oral itraconazole. Histopathology confirmed fungal rhinitis and culture identified Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus versicolor. Clinical remission was achieved after treatment; however, evidence of persistent infection was confirmed in the post-mortem examination 8 months after the cat was euthanased for unrelated reasons. Relevance and novel information Despite clinical remission, the persistence of fungal infection post mortem highlights the challenges of monitoring the response to treatment and illustrates that the resolution of clinical signs does not necessarily equate with a disease cure.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/37799297