Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Silent kidney worm infection found and treated in young dog
By Amaral, Camila Barbosa et al.·Published in Parasitology international·2020·Departamento de Medicina Veteriná, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Ectopic dioctophymosis in a dog - Clinical, diagnostic and pathological challenges of a silent disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-month-old female stray dog was rescued and later found to have moderate anemia and pancreatitis. During a follow-up ultrasound, vets discovered a cyst-like structure in her abdomen containing tubular worms, leading to a diagnosis of ectopic dioctophymosis, a rare condition caused by parasitic worms. The worms were surgically removed, and although her right kidney showed some signs of stress, it was not removed. The dog recovered well, and follow-up tests a year later showed no abnormalities, although there was mild kidney damage.
People also search for: dog abdominal cyst treatment · stray dog pancreatitis symptoms · ectopic dioctophymosis in dogs
Abstract
A 9-month old, female, stray dog was rescued and conducted to a university veterinary hospital. Moderate anemia was observed and abdominal ultrasound revealed pancreatitis. Right kidney was not visualized due to intestinal gas. Urinalysis was normal. Castration was performed three weeks later. Before discharge, abdominal ultrasound was performed for internal sutures examination. A cyst-like structure was present in the right retroperitoneal space with what appeared to be tubular worms inside it, not observed in previous evaluation. An ectopic dioctophymosis diagnosis was made. Two female Dioctophyme renale were surgically removed from the structure. Right kidney was hyperemic but not removed. No sign of peritonitis was observed. The dog recovered well. Laboratory follow-up showed no abnormalities a year after the episode and Doppler ultrasound revealed a mild right nephropathy. This is the first canine ectopic dioctophymosis case with only an abdominal cyst-like structure containing viable nematodes, successfully treated. It represents the rarity and difficulties in diagnosing ectopic dioctophymosis even in enzootic locations, highlighting the importance of ultrasonographic screening for such silent, potentially zoonotic disease.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32428658/