To our knowledge, this is the first case report of successful treatment of Candida albicans peritonitis in a dog. A marked exudative process was noted during therapy requiring significant oncotic support. Resolution of the disease process was achieved with surgical intervention and antifungal therapy.

Objective To determine the specificity of a snake venom detection kit in urine samples from dogs and cats presenting to a referral centre for diseases unrelated to snake envenomation.Design Urine was collected from 50 dog and 25 cats presented for investigation and treatment of diseases unrelated to snake envenomation. Urine was collected as a voided sample, by cystocentesis or by catheterisation, and routine urinanalysis was performed. Snake venom testing was performed within 2 h of collection using a commercially available snake venom detection kit, which was observed continuously during the 10-min colour reaction phase for evidence of a visible colour indicating a positive test. ResultsNo false-positive reactions occurred in any sample analysed. ConclusionThe snake venom detection kit appears to have 100% specificity for using urine as a test sample. T he CSL Snake Venom Detection Kit® is a rapid, freeze-dried, sandwich enzyme immunoassay. Each well of the test kit contains pairs of antibodies against a particular snake immunotype. Tiger, brown, black, death adder and taipan snake immunotypes are represented in the kit, together with a negative control, positive control and a blank well. One of the antibodies is attached to the plastic surface of the well and the other is modified by attachment of peroxidase and left free within the well. Any venom present in the test sample binds to the antibodies in the well and a washing phase subsequently removes any unbound material. Tetramethylbenzidine chromogen and peroxide are added to the wells, with oxidation of tetramethylbenzidine resulting in the development of a blue colour considered positive for a specific venom immunotype. This allows administration of the appropriate monovalent antivenom to the affected patient if indicated.1 Clinical sensitivity and specificity based on the presence of symptoms have been reported in the human literature at 53% and 83%, respectively.2 Cross-reactivity to other snake venoms and anecdotal incidences of false positives in urine containing haemoglobin have also been described.3-5 A case of brown snake bite without definitive evidence of envenomation, but displaying a positive result for black snake envenomation on snake venom detection kit testing of urine, has also been reported. 6 The incidence of false positives for urine samples is currently unknown in the veterinary population. Materials and methodsCats and dogs presenting to Murdoch University Veterinary Hospital for conditions other than suspected snake envenomation were assessed routinely and any urine samples obtained during the study period (March 2008 to August 2009) with sufficient residual volume were used for this study. On completion of the study, the medical records of the patients were reviewed to confirm that the patient's disease process had been unrelated to snake envenomation. This project had full Murdoch University Animal Ethics Committee approval.All urine samples had the method of collection recorded and were stored at room temperature after collection....