Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Recurrent fever as the only or predominant clinical sign in four dogs and one cat with congenital portosystemic vascular anomalies.
- Journal:
- Schweizer Archiv fur Tierheilkunde
- Year:
- 2003
- Authors:
- Wess, G et al.
- Affiliation:
- Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine
Plain-English summary
In a study involving 20 dogs and 3 cats diagnosed with congenital portosystemic vascular anomalies (PSVA), researchers found that five of these animals had recurrent fever as their main or only symptom. Along with the fever, they also showed signs of being very tired, eating less than usual, and not wanting to move for weeks or even months before getting a diagnosis. The unusual presentation of symptoms made it hard for veterinarians to identify PSVA right away. This suggests that when a pet has a fever with no clear cause, PSVA should be considered as a possible issue. The study highlights the importance of recognizing these atypical signs to avoid delays in diagnosis and treatment.
Abstract
Fever is not considered a typical clinical sign in animals with portosystemic vascular anomalies (PSVA). In a time period of 8 years, PSVA was diagnosed in 23 cases (20 dogs, 3 cats) at the Animal Hospital of the University of Zurich. Of these, recurrent fever was the only, the predominant or an early sign in 5 animals. Fever and associated unspecific clinical signs like lethargy, inappetence, and reluctance to move were present for weeks to months before the final diagnosis of PSVA was made. It was the lack of typical and well-known signs of PSVA that obscured and delayed the diagnosis. Therefore, PSVA should be included in the differential diagnosis of animals with fever of unknown origin (FUO).
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12951907/