Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Multiple small intestinal pseudodiverticula associated with lymphoma in three horses.
- Journal:
- Equine veterinary journal. Supplement
- Year:
- 2011
- Authors:
- Mair, T S et al.
- Affiliation:
- Bell Equine Veterinary Clinic
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Three mature horses were brought to the vet because they were losing weight, eating less than usual, had swelling in their bellies, and were very tired. Two of them also showed signs of mild belly pain. Tests revealed low protein levels in their blood, and two had other abnormal blood results. One pony was treated with steroids but got worse and developed a serious abdominal infection, leading to euthanasia after two weeks. Another pony had a biopsy that showed abnormal cell growth in the intestines but did not improve with antibiotics and steroids, and it was also euthanized after two months. The last pony continued to decline despite treatment and was euthanized after one week. All three horses were found to have serious intestinal issues linked to lymphoma (a type of cancer), and tests confirmed that the cancer was of T cell origin.
Abstract
Three mature horses presented with progressive weight loss, inappetence, ventral abdominal oedema and lethargy. Two of the animals had intermittent signs of low grade abdominal pain. At presentation, all 3 had hypoalbuminaemia; 2 had hyperfibrinogenaemia and the other had neutrophilia. An oral glucose tolerance test was performed in 2 cases, both of which demonstrated impaired glucose absorption. One pony treated with corticosteroids failed to improve and developed peritonitis and was subjected to euthanasia after 2 weeks. One pony had small intestinal biopsies obtained via a standing flank laparotomy, which revealed a mainly mononuclear cell infiltrate of the mucosa. It failed to respond to treatment with antibiotics and corticosteroids and, after 2 months, developed sternal oedema in addition to the ventral abdominal oedema and peritonitis and was subjected to euthanasia. The remaining pony deteriorated despite symptomatic therapy and was subjected to euthanasia after one week. At post mortem examination, all 3 animals had multifocal lesions of small intestinal wall thickening, mucosal ulceration, pseudodiverticula and enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes. One pony also had a multinodular mass at the root of the mesentery, a mediastinal mass and a lung mass. Histological examination confirmed the presence of lymphoma of the intestinal wall at post mortem examination in each case and immunohistochemistry (including retrospective evaluation of the intestinal biopsies obtained from the pony that underwent a flank laparotomy) indicated that the lymphomas were of T cell origin.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21790767/