Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with skin rash and heart failure linked to thymoma and flea
By Godfrey, D R·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·1999·Nine Lives Veterinary Practice for Cats·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Dermatosis and associated systemic signs in a cat with thymoma and recently treated with an imidacloprid preparation.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat with sudden skin problems, including severe redness and peeling, was brought in for treatment. Along with these skin issues, the cat also had heart failure and gastrointestinal problems. Initially, the vet thought the skin condition might be a reaction to a flea treatment, but further tests revealed a thymoma, which is a type of tumor in the chest. While the skin and stomach issues improved with medication, the heart failure worsened. The tumor was surgically removed, but sadly, the cat passed away due to heart failure.
People also search for: cat skin problems · cat heart failure treatment · thymoma in cats · cat flea treatment reaction
Abstract
A cat was presented with acute-onset exfoliative erythroderma and gross and histopathological lesions of erythema multiforme. Marked cardiovascular abnormalities including heart failure occurred concurrently and a dermatogenic enteropathy was also seen. Medical treatment resolved the dermatopathy and enteropathy but the heart failure progressed. A drug reaction was initially suspected to be the underlying cause with no neoplasia being detected, but repeat radiographs subsequently revealed a thymoma which had not been visible on the initial radiographs. The dermatopathy may have been a paraneoplastic disease associated with thymoma and, possibly, exacerbated by a drug reaction to imidacloprid. The cardiovascular and gastroenterological diseases were thought to be systemic effects associated with the exfoliative erythroderma. The thymoma was surgically removed but the cat subsequently died from heart failure.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10444753/