Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with severe fever and low platelets misdiagnosed as lymphoma
By Irie, Mitsuhiro et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2022·Shikoku Veterinary Medical Center, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Diagnosis of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) in a cat with clinical findings resembling lymphoma.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 2-year-old male domestic cat was brought in showing signs of lethargy, seizures, and yellowing of the eyes and gums. Blood tests revealed low white and platelet cell counts, and imaging showed an enlarged spleen and lymph nodes, which raised concerns for lymphoma. Unfortunately, despite receiving treatment, the cat passed away just a few hours later. Testing confirmed that the cat had severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), a viral infection that can mimic lymphoma symptoms. This case highlights the importance of recognizing SFTS in pets and taking precautions to prevent its spread.
People also search for: cat seizures · cat jaundice · lymphoma symptoms in cats · SFTS in cats · cat lethargy causes
Abstract
A two-year-old male domestic cat showed lethargy, tonic-clonic convulsion, and mucosal jaundice. Upon admission, blood examination indicated severe neutropenia and thrombocytopenia, and ultrasonography revealed diffuse splenomegaly with a honeycomb appearance and abdominal lymph nodes enlargement in addition to a decrease in cardiac blood flow indicating a shock condition. Cytology of the spleen showed a cell population composed of immature large lymphoid cells with distinct nucleoli, suggesting lymphoma. The cat received symptomatic treatments but died four hours later. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assay of the spleen sample indicated the presence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus S gene segment. Clinical features of this case that was diagnose as SFTS were similar to lymphoma. Therefore, pet owners and veterinary workers should be protected against infection of SFTS.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35400672/