A 13-year-old, female, neutered, domestic longhair cat was referred to the hospital with a two-month history of fluctuating weakness, lethargy, inappetence and intermittently soft stools. Physical examination noted variable mentation, mild tachycardia with poor pulse quality and a body condition score of 1/9. In-house haematology and biochemistry abnormalities included a mild neutrophilia, hyponatraemia, and decreased Na:K ratio of 24 and isosthenuric urine (1.012). The cat was admitted to the hospital for intravenous fluid therapy and management of its electrolyte abnormalities. A low basal cortisol (36 nmol/l) was found on analysis of a stored serum sample, and further investigations confirmed the diagnosis of hypoadrenocorticism. Treatment was implemented initially with hydrocortisone and dexamethasone and continued long term with desoxycorticosterone pivalate and oral prednisolone. More than one year since diagnosis, the cat is clinically well and stable on treatment.

Clomipramine in therapeutic dose was associated with nonpuerperal lactation and an elevated plasma prolactin. Both features resolved within weeks of discontinuing the drug.

No abstract

Case series summary Cats with non-erosive immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA) were identified from seven referral hospitals between 2009 and 2020 for a multicentre retrospective case series. Data were obtained from hospital records and referring veterinarians were contacted for follow-up. Twenty cases were identified: 12 castrated males (60%), one entire male (5%) and seven spayed females (35%). Common clinical signs included lameness (n = 20/20) and pyrexia (n = 10/18). Three cats presented with and two cats developed ligament laxity during treatment. Thirteen cats (65%) were diagnosed with non-associative IMPA and seven (35%) with associative IMPA. Comorbidities identified included chronic enteropathy (n = x/7), feline immunodeficiency virus (n = x/7) feline herpesvirus (n = x/7), bronchopneumonia (n = x/7) and discospondylitis (n = x/7). Sampling of the tarsal joints most frequently identified an increased proportion of neutrophils, consistent with IMPA. Eighteen cats (90%) received immunosuppressants. Eleven cats were started on prednisolone; eight had a poor response resulting in the addition of a second agent, euthanasia or acceptance of the persisting signs. One cat received ciclosporin and required an alternative second agent owing to adverse effects. Five cats were started on prednisolone and ciclosporin; three had a poor response and required an alternative second agent. One cat received prednisolone and chlorambucil and had a good response. Two cats (10%) received meloxicam and had a good response, although the clinical signs recurred when medication was tapered. A good outcome was achieved in 14/20 cats (70%) with IMPA. In the cats with a poor outcome 4/6 were euthanased and 2/6 had chronic lameness. Relevance and novel information Prognosis for feline IMPA can be good. Multimodal immunosuppression was often required. IMPA should be considered in lame cats, with or without pyrexia, when there is no evidence of trauma or infection. The tarsal joints should be included in the multiple joints chosen for sampling. Ligament laxity can occur in non-erosive feline IMPA.

Dogs treated for hypoadrenocorticism are monitored through analysis of their blood electrolytes. This is routinely performed with point-of-care analysers and doses of medications are adjusted based on the results. objectIves: To investigate the performance of two point-of-care analysers (IDEXX Catalyst Dx and IDEXX VetStat) against a reference laboratory method for the measurement of blood sodium, potassium and chloride concentrations, as well as sodium: potassium ratios, in dogs diagnosed with and treated for hypoadrenocorticism. Methods: Forty-eight dogs were enrolled into a prospective cross-sectional study. Paired blood samples were taken and tested on two point-of-care analysers and at a reference laboratory. Statistical analysis was then performed with Bland-Altman analysis and Passing-Bablok regression. The clinical effects of inaccurate electrolyte analysis were investigated. results: In total, 329 samples were tested on the Catalyst analyser, while another 72 samples were tested on the VetStat. Passing-Bablok regression identified both proportional and constant bias for some analytes. There was poor agreement between sodium and chloride concentrations on both analysers. Both analysers tended to give higher results than the reference method for all analytes, except for potassium when measured on the VetStat. clInIcal sIgnIfIcance: There are inherent differences between the electrolyte concentrations measured by these two point-of-care analysers and reference laboratory methods in dogs with hypoadrenocorticism.