2005 - 74 (3)

A case of juvenile nephropathy in a two-year-old male Boxer is reported. Clinical aspects, blood analysis, renal pathology and extrarenal changes are described. The renal changes mainly consisted of tubular and glomerular atrophy, tubular swelling, tubular and glomerular hyaline casts, mineralization, glomerular basement membrane thickening and capsular fibrosis. The main extrarenal lesions, which consisted of a necrotizing inflammatory reaction, were localized in the endocardium and myocardium, as well as in the aorta and truncus pulmonalis. Additionally, a septicemia linked to a localized purulent inflammation in the neck was noted.

A four-months-old Holstein Friesian calf was presented with a fast growing mass with extensive necrosis of the skin on the left side of the skull. On necropsy a tumor was found originating from the brain and protruding through the skull. Histological examination revealed a meningotheliomatous meningioma.

This review focuses on the possibilities of scintigraphy in the diagnosis, staging and therapy outcome of tumors in animals and man. A comparison is made with the current state of the art in human oncology and veterinary medicine. An overview is given concerning the working mechanism of the different commercially available radiopharmaceuticals, with emphasis on their specific use, depending on the clinical requests. Recent developments concerning new generations of radiopharmaceuticals which have the potential to offer more specificity and sensitivity, especially in the domain of therapy prediction and outcome, are mentioned. Despite its limitations, due for the most part to the limited system resolution and the lack of specificity of the currently available radiotracers, this modality offers additional diagnostic information compared to the conventional anatomical imaging techniques.

Primary brain tumors are the most common intracranial tumors in the dog. An incidence of 14.5 in 100 000 for dogs and 3.5 in 100 000 for cats has been suggested. At present the prevalence is estimated to be higher because of better diagnostic methods. These methods will be discussed in the present article. On the basis of the signalment, history and a complete physical and neurological examination, the presence of a brain lesion can be suspected. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis and X-ray examinations can be suggestive of a brain neoplasia, but computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are necessary to confirm the presence of an intracranial mass. The use of ultrasonography and scintigraphy are rather anecdotal diagnostic procedures, not commonly used in small animal neurology. A crucial step in obtaining a definitive diagnosis is the taking of a biopsy sample of the intracranial mass, preferably by a stereotactic CT-guided method.

This report describes the colonization of an intravenous catheter by Serratia marcescens in a Yorkshire Terrier suffering from chronic renal insufficiency. As in this case, catheter related infections may be responsible for increased morbidity or even mortality rates in severely ill dogs.