Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Young cat with invasive fungal infection blocking windpipe and chest
By Mutascio, Liliana M & Crooks, J Clifton·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2025·VetMED Emergency and Specialty Veterinary Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Invasive Tracheal and Cranial Mediastinal Aspergillosis in a Young Otherwise Healthy Cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 3.5-year-old male domestic medium hair cat was brought in for a dry cough and trouble breathing. X-rays showed a mass in the chest that was pushing on important blood vessels and the trachea. Unfortunately, during surgery to remove the mass, it was found to be too attached to vital structures, and the cat was euthanized. A fungal infection called Aspergillus lentulus was discovered, which can affect even healthy young cats. This case highlights how serious and invasive this type of infection can be.
People also search for: cat coughing and breathing problems · cat tracheal mass treatment · invasive aspergillosis in cats
Abstract
A 3.5-year-old castrated male domestic medium hair cat was evaluated for dry cough and labored breathing. A cranial mediastinal mass was seen on thoracic radiographs. On computed tomography, the mass displaced the cranial vena cava and dorsally displaced and compressed the intrathoracic trachea. The patient was taken to surgery for attempted mass removal. Intraoperatively, the mass was adhered to the cranial vena cava, aortic arch, left subclavian artery, and had partially engulfed the brachiocephalic trunk. The cat was euthanized and on necropsy the mass was found to invade the lumen of the vena cava and the tracheal lumen. An Aspergillus lentulus fungal granuloma was diagnosed histologically and by fungal culture and PCR. We highlight the difficulty in determining the extent of invasion with invasive aspergillosis and provide evidence that invasive aspergillosis can occur in otherwise healthy, young cats with no concurrent immunosuppressive treatments or comorbidities.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40802537/