Aspergillosis - canine Flashcards
What’s the causative agent of aspergillosis?
saprophytic and ubiquitous filamentous fungi
- opportunistic pathogen
What are the 2 distinct form of aspergillosis in dogs?
- sinonasal aspergillosis
- systemic aspergillosis
What’s the pathogenesis of sinonasal aspergillosis?
inhales, typically dogs are not systemically immunocompromised
- may be due to disequilibrium between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses (Th1 vs TH17m T-regs)
What are the clinical signs associated with aspergillosis?
- sneezing, reverse sneezing, epistaxis,
- nasal planum depigmentation, ulceration
- facial discomfort, lethargy, decreased appetite
How is aspergillosis diagnosed?
need a combination of tests
- endoscopy to visualize the fungal plaques – if found, sampling can be very useful
- imaging = moderate to severe cavitary destruction, thickened reactive bone, thickened mucosa
- cytology: direct smear or blind swab = not useful; brush or squash prep of biopsy = 93 & 100%
-culture = 100% specific
- serology = not useful as a screening test
How is aspergillosis treated?
- azole antifungal
- topical or systemic – systemic alone is not recommended
- topical would want to debride as much as possible prior to infusion; can also triphinate and infuse cream
- watch for CNS involvement with infusion if the cribriform plate = broken
How is treatment response assessed?
best with endoscopy, after 1m of therapy
What’s the long term outcome of aspergillosis?
relapse can still happen
- can have chronic lymphocytic rhinitis or secondary bacterial infection
What’s systemic aspergillosis in dogs?
No nasal involvement
- can be seen in intervertebral discs, bones, lungs, kidneys, eyes, LNs, brain, GI
- young German Shepherd dogs
What are the c/s of systemic aspergillosis?
depends on the organ affected:
- pain on spinal palpation, lameness, anorexia, weight loss, lethargy, muscle wasting, fever
How is systemic aspergillosis diagnosed?
culture (+) plus visualization of fungal hyphae
What’s the prognosis?
very poor despite aggressive therapy