Clinical, Radiological, and Echocardiographic Findings in Cats Infected by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus

Cats infected by may show a plethora of clinical signs, and pulmonary hypertension (PH) seems to be one of the possible alterations induced by the infection; however, data on this association are scant and contradictory. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the association between a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pathogens (Basel) 2023-02, Vol.12 (2), p.273
Main Authors: Napoli, Ettore, Pugliese, Michela, Basile, Angelo, Passantino, Annamaria, Brianti, Emanuele
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aelurostrongylus abstrusus
Alveoli
Blood
cat
cat lungworm
Cats
clinical signs
Comorbidity
Correlation
Dyspnea
Feces
Hypertension
Infections
Laboratories
Larvae
Parasites
Pulmonary arteries
pulmonary hypertension
Thorax
Thromboplastin
Veins & arteries
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Cats infected by may show a plethora of clinical signs, and pulmonary hypertension (PH) seems to be one of the possible alterations induced by the infection; however, data on this association are scant and contradictory. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the association between aelurostrongylosis and PH and to evaluate the correlation between the number of larvae expelled in the faeces and the clinical, echocardiographic, and radiological alterations. Fifteen cats (i.e., eight males and seven females) older than 3 months and naturally infected by with different parasitic loads, expressed as larvae per grams of faeces (l.p.g.), were enrolled in the study. Each animal underwent clinical, echocardiographic, and radiographic examinations. Most cats (i.e., 10/15) showed pathological patterns on thoracic radiograms; particularly, the alveolar pattern (four cats), interstitial-nodular pattern (five cats), and bronchial pattern (one cat). No significant echocardiographic findings of PH were detected. No correlation between the number of l.p.g. and the severity of clinical signs was observed, but a significant correlation with activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), radiographic alterations (interstitial nodular pattern), and ultrasonographic findings (RIVIDs) were noticed. These findings suggest that other factors such as animal age and health status, as well as comorbidity, may influence the presentation of the disease or the clinical manifestation and severity of the disease.
ISSN:2076-0817
2076-0817
DOI:10.3390/pathogens12020273