Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Serum tests compared for diagnosing fungal nose infection in dogs
By Billen, F et al.·Published in Veterinary microbiology·2009·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison of the value of measurement of serum galactomannan and Aspergillus-specific antibodies in the diagnosis of canine sino-nasal aspergillosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with nasal issues, including a 5-year-old Beagle with sneezing and nasal discharge, were tested for a fungal infection called sino-nasal aspergillosis. Researchers compared different blood tests to see which was best at diagnosing this condition. They found that a specific test called AGDD was very accurate, correctly identifying 76.5% of dogs with the infection, while another test, the IgG ELISA, was even better at detecting the infection in 88% of cases. However, a third test, the Platelia test, was not reliable for diagnosing this fungal infection.
People also search for: dog nasal discharge treatment · Beagle sneezing causes · canine sino-nasal aspergillosis diagnosis
Abstract
Serology is currently used for the diagnosis of canine sino-nasal aspergillosis (SNA). However, the accuracy of serological testing using commercially available, standardized purified antigen preparations of Aspergillus (CAPurAspAg) has only been poorly documented. The aim of the present study was to assess the diagnostic value of an agar-gel double immunodiffusion (AGDD) test and an anti-Aspergillus IgG ELISA, using CAPurAspAg and the commercially available Platelia test for the detection of serum galactomannan. Sera from 17 dogs with SNA, 18 dogs with a nasal tumour (NT), 11 dogs with lymphoplasmacytic rhinitis (LPR) and 33 control dogs were tested with the 3 methods. AGDD result was positive in 76.5% of dogs with SNA, whereas all sera from dogs with non-fungal nasal disease and control dogs were negative. A positive IgG ELISA result was obtained in 88% of dogs with SNA and in 18% of dogs with LPR. All patients with NT and control dogs had a negative IgG ELISA result. The Platelia test was positive in 24% of dogs with SNA, 11% of dogs with NT, 9% of dogs with LPR and 24% of control dogs. The results of this study suggest that (1) the detection of serum Aspergillus-specific antibodies with AGDD or ELISA, using CAPurAspAg, provides excellent specificity and good sensitivity, (2) the specificity is higher for AGDD (100%) than for ELISA (96.8%) while sensitivity is higher for ELISA (88.2%) than for AGDD (76.5%) and (3) serum galactomannan quantification with the Plateliat test is unreliable for the diagnosis of canine SNA.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18768268/