Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is an uncommon, rapidly progressive neoplasm in dogs. The aim of this retrospective study was to characterize the clinical presentation, haematologic findings, diagnostic imaging results, treatment and survival time of a contemporary cohort of dogs with AML. Diagnosis was based on >20% blasts in bone marrow or blood identified as myeloid based on morphologic findings, flow cytometric immunophenotyping and cytochemical staining. Medical records of 35 dogs diagnosed with AML from 2007 to 2015 were included. Most dogs presented with inappetence (66%) and lethargy (57%) and physical examination findings of peripheral lymphadenopathy (74%) and tachypnea (62%). Common haematologic findings were quantifiable circulating blasts (85%; median blast count 35 700/μL; range: 300-276 500/μL), anaemia (median haematocrit 34%; range: 11%-52%) and thrombocytopenia (median 57 000/μL; range: 9000-252 000/μL). Bicytopenia and pancytopenia were each found in 44% of dogs. Follow-up information was available for 34 dogs. The overall median survival time from diagnosis was 19 days (range: 1-121 days). Clinical progression in some dogs was not as rapid as previously reported. Haematologic responses to various chemotherapeutics were documented in 3 dogs, with associated survival times of 62, 103 and 121 days. Dogs treated with prednisone or a combination of chemotherapy and prednisone had improved survival compared to dogs that received symptomatic care only (P < .0001). Our results show canine AML has an overlapping clinical presentation with lymphoma. The prognosis for canine AML remains extremely guarded. Further studies are needed to optimize therapeutic regimens for dogs with AML.

In cats, larvae of the dipteran fly, Cuterebra, sometimes cause severe disease by their migration through the tissues of the larynx, pharynx, nasal sinuses, brain, and spinal cord; such infected cats may die without the maggots ever reaching the subcutaneous tissues where they would typically mature. The current study examines the ability of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using crude Cuterebra antigen from maggots to detect parasite-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G in cats with known ( n = 42), suspected ( n = 25), or no known exposure to the infection ( n = 68). The probability of a given optical density (OD) predicting the infection status of a given animal was determined using logistic regression, and both 1:20 and 1:80 serum dilutions were highly predictive of the potential of a cat being infected with a larval Cuterebra. In 5 cases where 2 samples were collected 1–2 weeks apart, there was a mean OD increase in the second sample for both the 1:20 and 1:80 dilutions, but it was significant ( P = 0.044) only at the 1:20 dilution. Sex of the sampled cat was not a significant contributor to the ability of the OD to predict the presence of a larva, but the age of the cat added significantly to the predictive value of the generated curves, with the only exception being with the 1:20 serum dilution with the curve being generated only using the cats known to be positive for larval presence. This ELISA should aid in ruling cuterebriasis in or out in suspect systemic and, specifically, neurologic cases and provide information on kinetics of antibody presence postexposure.

No abstract