Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Feline cholangitis: a necropsy study of 44 cats (1986-2008).
- Journal:
- Journal of feline medicine and surgery
- Year:
- 2011
- Authors:
- Callahan Clark, Julie E et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Studies · United States
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
This study looked at 44 cats that were found to have moderate to severe cholangitis, which is inflammation of the bile ducts in the liver, after they passed away. The researchers found that most of these cases were either acute neutrophilic cholangitis or chronic neutrophilic cholangitis. Interestingly, the symptoms of these two types were similar, which is different from what was previously thought. They also discovered that liver enzyme levels didn't always indicate how bad the inflammation was, and that it was important to take samples from different parts of the liver for a better understanding. Additionally, many of these cats had other health issues, like inflammatory bowel disease or pancreatitis, which often contributed to their overall health decline. The study concluded that cholangitis is not a common cause of death in cats, but when it does occur, it is usually linked with other serious conditions.
Abstract
Forty-four cats diagnosed with moderate to severe cholangitis at necropsy are described. The population comprised 0.86% of all feline necropsies performed during the 22-year study period. Liver specimens were classified as acute neutrophilic cholangitis (ANC), chronic neutrophilic cholangitis (CNC), lymphocytic cholangitis (LC) or chronic cholangitis associated with liver fluke infestation (CC) based on the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) classification scheme. ANC (seven) and CNC (33) comprised the majority of cases. In contrast to previous descriptions, overlap was seen in clinical findings between ANC and CNC subtypes. Results suggest that liver enzyme activity may not predict degree of inflammation. Severity of inflammation varied between liver sections in individual cats, underscoring the need to obtain biopsy samples from multiple sites. Inflammatory bowel disease (50%), pancreatitis (60%), or both (32%) commonly accompanied cholagitis. We conclude that cholangitis is not a common cause of feline mortality. Most cats that succumb to cholangitis have ANC or CNC, and concurrent disease contributes to death in many.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21719332/