Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Intestinal blockage from pythiosis in two cats treated with surgery
By Rakich, Pauline M et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2005·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Gastrointestinal pythiosis in two cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Two young male Domestic Shorthair cats were brought to the vet with signs of a blocked intestine, which included a noticeable abdominal mass. Surgery revealed a large mass in one cat's intestine and an abscess in the other. Both cats underwent surgery to remove the masses, and tests confirmed they had a rare infection caused by Pythium insidiosum. One cat was healthy for four months after surgery but later died from an unknown cause, while the other cat has been doing well for over nine months and appears to be fully recovered.
People also search for: cat intestinal blockage symptoms · Pythium infection in cats · cat surgery recovery time · signs of cat abdominal mass
Abstract
Two young adult male Domestic Shorthair cats living in the southeastern United States were evaluated for signs attributable to partial intestinal obstruction. Physical examination indicated a palpable abdominal mass in each animal. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a large extraluminal mass involving the ileum and mesentery with adjacent mesenteric lymphadenopathy in cat No. 1 and an abscessed mass in the distal duodenum in cat No. 2. Mass resection and intestinal anastomosis were performed in both cats. Histologic evaluation indicated that the intestinal lesions involved primarily the outer smooth muscle layer and serosa and consisted of eosinophilic granulomatous inflammation with multifocal areas of necrosis. In Gomori methenamine silver-stained sections, broad (2.5-7.5 microm), occasionally branching, infrequently septate hyphae were observed within areas of necrosis. A diagnosis of Pythium insidiosum infection was confirmed in both cats by immunoblot serology and by immunoperoxidase staining of tissue sections using a P. insidiosum-specific polyclonal antibody. Cat No. 1 was clinically normal for 4 months after surgery but then died unexpectedly from an unknown cause. Cat No. 2 has been clinically normal for at least 9 months after surgery and appears to be cured on the basis of follow-up enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay serology.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15945385/