Respiratory Flashcards
What are the 3 most common clinical signs associated with nasal disease?
Nasal discharge, sneezing, stertor (stridor is less common and is due to narrowing of nares; reverse sneezing is not pathologic)
What are some less common clinical signs related to nasal disease?
Pawing, rubbing muzzle, facial deformities (neoplasia, fungal infection), CNS signs, mouth breathing (secondary to obstruction)
Where does the nasal discharge most commonly originate from?
Nasal cavity, frontal sinuses, nasopharynx (nasal polyps in cats)
What factors of nasal discharge should you be assessing clinically?
The physical characters of it (blood, serous, mucus, mucopurulent, etc.), acute or chronic, unilateral or bilateral, response to prior therapy, seasonality/environmental change?
T/F: tumors and fungal infections of the nares most commonly has bilateral discharge that progressed from unilateral discharge with chronicity.
TRUE
What on PE should you focus for nasal disease?
Oral exam (thorough one needs anesthesia), ocular disease, check ocular retropulsion (neoplasia, abscess, fungal granulomas), fundic exam (esp cats with polyps), aural exam (cats with polyps), lesions in nares, submandibular lymphadenopathy, patency of nares, palpate muzzle (pain, boney abnormalities)
What diagnostic tests can help with diagnosing nasal diseases?
CBC, BCHEM, urinalysis, culture, coagulation tests, complete oral exam under anesthesia, nasal flush (cytology and culture), radiographs, CT, otoscope cone, rhinoscopy, biopsy
If you suspect FIV, what diagnostic tests can be done?
Retroviral testing, feline respiratory pathogen PCR panels (can identify carriers with no clinical signs)
When do you use a coagulation test for nasal disease?
When there is epistaxis or pursuing biopsy
What should you be measuring in epistaxis cases?
Platelet numbers, platelet function tests, Pt/PTT, blood pressure
What tools might you use to diagnose dental disease?
Dental mirror, spay hook, x-rays
Combination of what 3 diagnostic tests are required for diagnosing chronic disease?
CT, rhinoscopy, biopsy
What should you absolutely not pass when getting a biopsy?
Do not pass the medial canthus or you’ll biopsy the brain
Primary bacterial rhinitis (cats and dogs) is _______ (common/uncommon)
Uncommon
What kind of nasal discharge might you see with primary bacterial rhinitis?
Mucopurulent (but tehre are for more likely primary etiologies)
What might be some common primary pathogens (cats > dogs) associated with bacterial rhinitis
Chlamydia felis, bordatella bronchoseptica, Streptococcus canis, Streptococcus equi spp zooepidemicus, Mycoplasma, Pasteurella multocida
What type of tissue/fluid should you get a culture on for bacterial rhinitis?
Deep tissue biopsies and/or nasal flushes are more representative of the pathogen causing rhinitis as there is less contamination than superficial or mucous swabs
What kind of tissue or fluid should you conduct cytologies on?
Nasal lavage/brushings > mucus/secretions
What fungal species causes Canine sinonasal aspergillosis?
Aspergillus fumigatus (opportunistic fungus) and is ubiquitous (everywhere in environment)
What do you normally see clinically with a A. fumigatus infection?
Fungal plaques in caudal nasal cavity and/or frontal sinus
What’s the typical signalement for canine sinonasal aspergillosis?
Young male dog, GSD or rotty (longer nosed dogs, dolycephalic), less common in cats
What does the fungus do to the turbinates?
The fungus secretes necrolitic toxins that eat away at turbinates and starts off as mucopurulent discharge which then becomes epistaxis
How do you diagnose canine sinonasal aspergillosis?
CT (will see lesions in turbinates, turbinate destruction), radiographs (soft tissue/fluid densities within frontal sinus, periosteal reactions), serology (good specificity, moderate sensitivity < not good screening: if it’s +ve it’s likely aspergillosis)
If you see a fungal plaque with a rhinoscope, what should you do now?
Biopsy the fungal plaque, do cytology and histopathology +/- culture
How should you treat canine sinonasal aspergillosis?
Debridement, topical antifungals in nasal cavities and sinuses (flush + cream), may need systemic antifungals
What are the 2 classifications of canine inflammatory rhinitis?
Lymphoplasmacytic and eosinophillic
How should you diagnose inflammatory canine rhinitis?
Disease of exlusions since inflammation hides many diseases (neoplasia, fungus, FB, dental disease) so do CT, rhinoscopy, biopsy
If a dog did have inflammatory rhinitis, what might you see on CT, rhinoscopy and biopsy?
CT: will not see mass, turbinate destruction, just inflammation and mucus. Rhinoscopy will be negative for FB, mass, etc < just edema, discharge and hyperemia. Biopsy: would see inflammatory populations, no cancer cells or abnormal cells
What’s the treatment for lymphoplasmacytic or allergic inflammatory rhinitis?
Lymphoplasmacytic: air humidifaction, corticosteroids/immunosuppression, address dental disease if present, identify possible allergens; allergic: air humidifer, corticosteroids, antihistamines, trial anti-parasitics, identify possible allergens
What type of mite (mite name) is responsible for sneezing, reverse sneezing, mild serous nasal discharge?
Pneumonyssoides caninum
How do you treat canine nasal mites?
Milbemycin oxime (once weekly for 3 weeks); ivermectin (twice 3 weeks apart); selamectin (every 2 weeks for 3 treatments)
What type of breed (large or small) are foreign bodies most common in nares?
Large breed
What are some tell tale history clues that it’s a foreign body stuc up the nares?
Acute onset sneezing, unilateral discomfort, and with chronicity there is muco-purulent discharge
What is upper respiratory disease in cats often referred to as?
FURD = feline upper respiratory disease
What are the primary agents that causes upper respiratory infection?
Viral: calici virus and herpes virus (FHV1); bacterial: Mycoplasma, bordatella, chlamydophila, streptococcus < usually multiple
How is upper respiratory infection transmitted?
respiratory, ocular, oral transmission, contact with contaminated environment (especially calicivirus), aerosal not a major route.
Can calicivirus have carrier cats?
yes
What are some of the most common clinical signs of feline calicivirus?
Oral ulcers (anorexia, hypersalivation), sneezing, conjunctivitis, ocular and nasal discharge (not as bad as feline herpesvirus)
T/F: variability in clinical signs occurs due to different viral strains
TRUE
What are the most common acute clinical signs of feline herpesvirus?
Sneezing, serous ocular and nasal discharge (often progresses to mucopurulent), inappetence, pyrexia, fever, conjunctivitis, ulcerative keratitis
What are some diagnostic approaches for acute FHV or FCV?
History and PE (oftentimes we don’t pursue from here since it wouldn’t change the treatments); culture and PCR (only when unusual or severe signs, legal issues, detecting carriers)
How do we treat FCV or FHV?
Most often self limiting, supportive care, saline nebulization to combat airway dehydration to increase secretions to help clear things. Make sure to clean the nasal secretions cause cats really depend on smell to eat
What are some additional treatments to help with FCV and FHV?
Lysine (works similar to fortiflora and interferes with herpes viral replication, good for chronic cases), antivirals like famiclovir, probiotics, stress relief management
How important is antibiotics for FCV or FHV?
Shouldn’t give based on mucopurulent discharge alone, only if signs > 10d with coinfections. Doxycycline is a good choice but if it doesn’t improve then do more workup
What is the two tiered approach to controlling FCV/FHV outbreaks?
1) increase immunity via vaccinations or general health checks; 2) decrease exposure
What’s the most common cause of feline chronic rhinosinusitis?
Viral cause, secondary to FHV1 epithelial/turbinate damage; bacterial; immune mediated; retroviral status (not really considered now)
What are clinical signs of feline rhinosinusitis (chronic)?
Non-specific (sneezing, stertor, nasal discharge, preservation of airflow, often healthy but may be inappetent with lots of nasal discharge
How do you diagnose feline chronic rhinosinusitis?
Diagnosis of exclusions: Could do PCR panels, otic exams, ask about travel; may due oral exam under sedation and imaging, rhinoscopy, nasal biopsies (neutrophilic or lymphoplasmacytic inflammation)
How do you treat chronic rhinosinusitis?
Antibiotics, air humidifier, lysine, antivirlas, probiotics, nasal flushing, intranasal vaccine, steroids. You end up controlling it, not curing it so prognosis is meh
Why is doxycycline not used in cats?
It causes esophageal strictures so always follow it with water if you do use it or get it compounded into liquid
What is feline nasal cryptococcus?
It’s a fungal infection via cryptococcus neoformans and gattii and the cats get it by inhaling the spores
What does cryptococcus infection cause?
Upper respiratory tract problems like granulomatous lesions on nasal bones, neurological signs, skin and systemic and ocular disease might show up
How do you diagnose cryptococcus infections?
Latex capsular agglutination test (LCAT) on serum and CSF, cytology (thick non-staining capsule = cryptococcus)
How do you treat cryptococcus infections?
Oral or injectable antifungals (oral for confined to nasal cavity infections like Fluconazole or itraconazole) for at least 6 months; then make sure to do titres as therapeutic monitoring. Prognosis is good without neurologic environment but it can relapse