Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with lung cancer causing air around heart and chest problems
By Greci, V et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2015·Ospedale Veterinario Gregorio VII·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pneumopericardium, pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax and pneumoretroperitoneum complicating pulmonary metastatic carcinoma in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old male cat was brought in for difficulty breathing and signs of heart distress. The vet discovered that the cat had a rare condition where gas had built up around the heart and lungs, likely due to advanced lung cancer that had spread. This situation is known as spontaneous pneumopericardium, which is very uncommon. Unfortunately, despite treatment efforts, the cat's condition was severe due to the cancer, and it did not recover.
People also search for: cat breathing problems · cat heart distress · lung cancer in cats · pneumopericardium in cats · cat dyspnea treatment
Abstract
This report describes a case of severe spontaneous tension pneumopericardium with concurrent pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax and retropneumoperitoneum in a cat presenting with dyspnoea and signs of cardiac tamponade secondary to metastatic pulmonary carcinoma. Spontaneous pneumopericardium is an extremely uncommon condition consisting of pericardial gas in the absence of iatrogenic/traumatic causes. In humans, it has been described secondary to pneumonia or lung abscess and very rarely secondary to pulmonary neoplasia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25958888/