Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
German shepherd dog with spreading Phialemonium obovatum fungal
By Smith, A N et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2000·Department of Small Animal Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Disseminated infection with Phialemonium obovatum in a German shepherd dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old spayed female German Shepherd was brought in for limping on her left front leg. The vet found a fungal infection causing a granuloma (a type of inflamed tissue) in her leg, identified as Phialemonium obovatum. Despite trying strong antifungal medications and surgery to remove the infected tissue, the dog’s condition worsened, leading to systemic illness. Unfortunately, she was euthanized five months later due to the severity of the infection and possible immune system issues.
People also search for: German Shepherd limping · fungal infection in dogs · treatment for Phialemonium obovatum
Abstract
A 4-year-old spayed female German Shepherd Dog was evaluated because of left forelimb lameness. A fungal granuloma on the distal portion of the radius was determined to be the cause of the lameness; the infecting organism was identified as Phialemonium obovatum. Despite aggressive treatment with amphotericin B, itraconazole, and ketoconazole and curettage of the local area, the dog developed systemic disease and was euthanatized 5 months after initial evaluation. Immune dysfunction may have played a role in development of disseminated disease, because although serum concentrations of total IgG, IgA, and IgM were within or greater than reference ranges, results of lymphocyte proliferation assays were abnormal, which indicated cellular immune dysfunction. Infection with Phialemonium obovatum should be considered as a differential diagnosis when branching fungal organisms are detected during histologic, cytologic, or microbiologic evaluation of tissue specimens.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10707686/