Search

Anemia is considered a common finding in dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD), typically as normochromic, normocytic, and non-regenerative. Although anemia can occur at any CKD IRIS (International Renal Interest Society) stage, its severity is related with the loss of kidney function. The aim of the present study was to retrospectively evaluate quantitative and morphological abnormalities of the erythrogram in dogs at different CKD IRIS stages. A total of 482 CBCs from 3648 initially screened were included in the study. Anemia was present in 302/482 (63%) dogs, in the majority of which it was normochromic, normocytic, and non-regenerative (295/302; 98%). The number of reticulocytes was p = 0.0001). The frequency of anemia significantly differed (p = 0.0001) among the IRIS stages: 108/231 (47%) in IRIS 2, 77/109 (71%) in IRIS 3, and 117/142 (82%) in IRIS 4. Dogs at IRIS stages 3 and 4 were more likely to have moderate to severe anemia, compared to dogs at IRIS stage 2 (p = 0.0001). Anisocytosis was the most frequent morphological abnormality (291/482; 60%), whereas the presence of poikilocytosis showed an association with progression of IRIS stages (p = 0.009). Among different morphological abnormalities, the frequency of fragmented red blood cells and Howell–Jolly bodies showed a significant association with the progression of CKD. Anemia was a frequent finding in CKD dogs, mostly associated with none to poor regeneration rate. Similar to human medicine, advanced CKD stages are more frequently characterized by morphological alterations, such as fragmented red blood cells and Howell–Jolly bodies, which may suggest a more severe condition of reduced bone marrow activity and microangiopathy.

Feline squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is currently treated with surgery, radiation therapy and electrochemotherapy (ECT). Both the efficacy and/or safety of ECT were evaluated as a sole therapy with bleomycin to treat feline nasal planum SCC (npSCC). Sixty-one cats were enrolled. Local treatment response was evaluated as complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR) or stable disease (SD). Recurrence rate (RR), disease-free interval (DFI) and progression free survival (PFS) were calculated. A six-point scale was used for ECT toxicity. The median tumor size was 1.5 cm. CR was achieved in 65.6% of cases, PR in 31.1% and SD in 3.3%. The overall response rate was 96.7%, RR was 22.5%, median DFI was 136 days, and median PFS was 65.5 days. ECT toxicity was ≤2 in 51% of cats. Tumor recurrence/progression (p = 0.014) and local treatment response (PR: p < 0.001; SD: p < 0.001) influenced survival time. Cats with toxicity >2 showed a higher probability of tumor recurrence/progression. Tumor-related death was higher in cats with PR (p < 0.001) and recurrence/progression (p = 0.002), in ECT treatment with 1 Hz (p = 0.035) and 1200 V/cm (p = 0.011) or 1300 V/cm (p = 0.016). Tumor size influenced local treatment response (p = 0.008) and toxicity (p < 0.001). ECT is an effective treatment for feline npSCCs and should be considered as the first-line procedure for low-stage tumors.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disorder leading to structural changes in the intestinal wall. In humans, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been proposed as a promising marker of IBD. This study evaluated the possible clinical and prognostic significance of the NLR in dogs with IBD. This retrospective study enrolled 41 dogs diagnosed with IBD presented to University of Pisa from January 2017 to January 2018. For each dog, age, sex, canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI), endoscopic and histopathological grading were recorded. Complete blood count, serum total protein, albumin, cholesterol, and C-reactive protein at the time of endoscopy were recorded. A control group (CG) of healthy dogs from a blood donor database was built. NLR was calculated for both IBD and CG as the ratio between absolute neutrophils and lymphocytes. Presence of crypt distension, lacteal dilation (LD), mucosal fibrosis, intraepithelial lymphocytes was recorded. Follow-up information was obtained from electronic medical records and dogs were classified as responders and non-responders based on CCECAI variation between admission and the first recheck. IRE dogs showed higher NLR compared to healthy dogs. NLR correlated negatively with total protein, albumin, and cholesterol and correlated positively with CCECAI. Dogs with LD showed higher NLR than dogs without LD. Non-responders showed higher NLR compared to responders. In conclusion, as in IBD human patients, the NLR acts as an inflammatory marker providing further information on severity of the disease and could be useful in predicting treatment response.

Canine mast cell tumours (MCTs) present a wide variety of challenging clinical behaviours in terms of predicting the prognosis and choosing appropriate treatment. This study investigated the frequency, risk, and prognostic factors of MCTs in dogs admitted to a single veterinary teaching hospital (VTH). Breed, age, sex, and sexual status in ninety-eight dogs with MCTs (MCT-group) were compared with a control group of 13,077 dogs (VTH-group) obtained from the VTH clinical database from January 2010 to January 2016. Within the MCT-group, signalment, location, size, mass number, ulceration, histopathological grading, presence of lymph node, or distant metastases were compared with each other and with the outcome. Boxers (OR 7.2), American Pit Bull Terriers (OR 5.4), French Bulldogs (OR 4.4) and Labrador Retrievers (OR 2.6) were overrepresented. The MCT-group was significantly older than the VTH-group (p < 0.0001). In comparison with the VTH group, in the MCT-group neutered dogs (OR 2.1) and spayed females (OR 2.3) were predominant compared to intact dogs and intact females, respectively. Ulceration (OR 5.2) and lymph node metastasis (OR 7.1) occurred more frequently in larger MCTs. Both ulceration and MCTs > 3 cm were highly associated with lymph node metastasis (OR 24.8). Recurrence was associated with MCT-related death (OR 10.50, p = 0.0040), and the latter was associated with shorter survival times (p = 0.0115). Dogs with MCTs > 3 cm (p = 0.0040), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0234), or elevated WHO stage (p = 0.0158) had shorter survival times. A significantly higher frequency of MCTs was found in specific breeds, and in older and neutered dogs. MCTs > 3 cm and lymph node or distant metastases were associated with shorter survival times.