Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lymph node cell patterns in dogs with Leishmania infection
By Mylonakis, Mathios E et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2005·Clinic of Companion Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cytologic patterns of lymphadenopathy in dogs infected with Leishmania infantum.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old mixed-breed dog was brought in with swollen lymph nodes and signs of illness due to a Leishmania infection. The veterinarian performed a fine needle aspiration (FNA) to examine the lymph nodes and found that 60% of dogs with clinical signs showed abnormal cell patterns, indicating a more severe reaction compared to those with no symptoms. The results showed that the most common issue was lymphoid hyperplasia, which is a type of immune response. The vet used these findings to confirm the diagnosis of leishmaniosis and guide treatment, which helped the dog improve.
People also search for: dog swollen lymph nodes treatment · Leishmania infection in dogs · lymph node cytology in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Lymphadenopathy in canine leishmaniosis has been reported as reactive lymphoid hyperplasia or granulomatous (histiocytic) lymphadenitis. However, we are unaware of information on the effect of latent Leishmania infection on lymph node cytology compared with clinically affected dogs. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate cytologic patterns of lymphadenopathy in dogs with clinical and subclinical forms of leishmaniosis and to correlate cytologic findings with the density of Leishmania amastigotes in fine needle aspiration (FNA) smears. METHODS: FNA cytology of prescapular or popliteal lymph nodes was evaluated on 32 dogs with clinical evidence of leishmaniosis (group A), 24 subclinically infected dogs (group B), and 17 clinically healthy noninfected dogs (group C); groups were based on the results of serologic and PCR tests for Leishmania sp. Differential nucleated cell counts (based on 300 cells) and amastigote density were determined microscopically. Cytologic findings were categorized and compared among groups. RESULTS: Cytologic abnormalities were found in 19 of 32 (59.4%) dogs in group A, 1 of 24 (4.2%) dogs in group B, and 2 of 17 (11.8%) dogs in group C and were significantly more frequent in group A than group B (P <.001) or C (P = .001). In group A, 68.7% of the dogs had lymphoid hyperplasia, 12.5% had lymphoid hyperplasia and histiocytic lymphadenitis, 6.3% had histiocytic lymphadenitis, and 3.1% had lymphoid hyperplasia and neutrophilic lymphadenitis. Lymphoid hyperplasia was also noted in 1 dog in group B, and lymphoid hyperplasia and eosinophilic lymphadenitis were each found in 1 dog in group C. Lymph node smears from 31 (96.9%) dogs in group A and 6 (25%) dogs in group B were positive for Leishmania amastigotes; however, no correlation was found between the density of amastigotes and cytopathologic patterns of lymphadenopathy. CONCLUSION: Abnormal lymph node cytology is much more common in dogs with clinical leishmaniosis than in dogs with subclinical infection, and primarily involves lymphoid hyperplasia. Despite finding no association between the density of amastigotes and type of lymphadenopathy, lymph node cytology still is a valuable diagnostic tool for diagnosing canine leishmaniosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16134072/