Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Extensive hepatic portal venous gas and gastric pneumatosis in a cat.
- Journal:
- Veterinary medicine and science
- Year:
- 2021
- Authors:
- Spiller, Karin T & Eisenberg, Beth W
- Affiliation:
- Yonkers · United States
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 15-year-old female neutered Domestic Long Hair cat was brought to the vet because she was vomiting blood. Initial tests, including blood work and an ultrasound, didn’t show any obvious problems, but the ultrasound did reveal thickening of the stomach wall and some foreign material in her stomach. After an endoscopy to remove the foreign material, her condition worsened, leading to severe vomiting, low blood pressure, and even collapse, which required a blood transfusion. Further imaging showed gas in the portal vein (the vein that carries blood from the intestines to the liver) and severe inflammation in her stomach. Unfortunately, despite treatment efforts, her condition continued to decline rapidly, and she was humanely euthanized.
Abstract
A 15-year-old female neutered Domestic Long Hair cat was presented for acute hematemesis. Initial diagnostic workup, including serum biochemistry panel, complete blood count and coagulation profile, was unremarkable. Abdominal ultrasound showed gastric mural thickening and non-obstructive gastric foreign material. Endoscopy was performed to remove the foreign matter and obtain biopsies. Significant abnormalities of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract were not noted endoscopically. Overnight, the patient required a packed red blood cell transfusion following two episodes of severe hematemesis, hypotension and collapse. Serial radiographs and ultrasound revealed hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG). Computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed massive gas accumulation within the liver and emphysematous gastritis. The patient became increasingly unstable and, given her rapid decline, humane euthanasia was elected. Gastric and duodenal histopathology showed inflammatory changes, spirochetosis and mucosal epithelial degeneration. HPVG is a rarely described finding and prognosis varies drastically depending on aetiology. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of portal vein gas documented on multiple imaging modalities, including CT, in a cat. The patient in this report had several potential risk factors including prior endoscopy, compromise of the intestinal barrier and evidence of gastric mural bacterial invasion.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33222419/