BackgroundMeasurement of basal serum or plasma cortisol concentration is used as a screening test for hypoadrenocorticism in dogs, but is not well characterized.ObjectivesTo evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of basal serum cortisol to detect hypoadrenocorticism in a population of dogs with a clinical suspicion of hypoadrenocorticism.AnimalsFour hundred and fifty dogs with nonadrenal gland illness and 14 dogs with naturally occurring hypoadrenocorticism were included.MethodsRetrospective case‐control study. The records of all dogs having had an ACTH stimulation test performed between January 2005 and September 2011 at the University of Bristol were reviewed. Dogs were included if the test was performed as a screening for hypoadrenocorticism. The sensitivity and specificity of basal serum cortisol concentration to detect dogs with hypoadrenocorticism were calculated using 2 cut‐offs and compared to the gold standard ACTH stimulation test.ResultsUsing a cut‐off of ≤2 μg/dL (≤55 nmol/L), the sensitivity and specificity of basal cortisol to detect hypoadrenocorticism were 100% and 63.3%, respectively, whereas for a cut‐off of ≤1 μg/dL (≤28 nmol/L), the sensitivity and specificity were 85.7% and 91.8%, respectively.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceMeasurement of basal serum cortisol is useful as a screening test for hypoadrenocorticism in dogs using a cut‐off of ≤2 μg/dL (≤55 nmol/L), and the disease is unlikely with a basal serum cortisol >2 μg/dL (>55 nmol/L). A basal serum cortisol ≤2 μg/dL (≤55 nmol/L) cannot be used to diagnose hypoadrenocorticism, and an ACTH stimulation test should be performed in these cases.

Nine samples were excluded due to inadequate canine DNA polymerase chain reaction results. Of the remaining 142 samples: eight (5·6%) were positive for M. haemocanis alone, six (4·2%) were positive for "Ca. M. haematoparvum" alone and one (0·7%) was dual positive. No association was found between haemoplasma status and age, sex, breed, health status, presence of anaemia, selected biochemistry parameters, presence of ectoparasites, routine ectoparasiticide treatment or the presence of selected tick-borne diseases.

The authors report a case of septic pericardial effusion resulting in cardiac tamponade associated with intrathoracic botryomycosis in a dog. Septic pericarditis and a pulmonary mass were diagnosed, and subtotal pericardiectomy and lobectomy of the affected pulmonary areas were carried out. Histopathology of the excised tissue showed changes supportive of botryomycosis--namely a pyogranulomatous inflammation with neutrophils centred around amorphous homogeneous eosinophilic material and club-like bodies containing Gram-positive bacterial cocci present in the centre. The patient recovered well following surgery and antibiotic therapy. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of pulmonary botryomycosis in the dog and the first report of this condition presented with pericardial involvement and cardiac tamponade in any species.

A 5-year-old, intact male Italian Spinone dog was presented for progressive, severe dyspnea and coughing. Thoracic radiographs revealed a large mass in the right cranial thorax. Fine needle aspiration of the mass yielded a highly cellular sample containing dense clumps of oval to spindle-shaped mesenchymal cells with distinct intracytoplasmic vacuolation, consistent with lipoblasts and lipocytes. Cell clusters were associated with abundant eosinophilic matrix, which was identified as mucin, based on Alcian blue staining. At exploratory thoracotomy, the mass was found to be nonresectable, and the dog was euthanized. Histologic sections of the multilobular mass had discrete regions of variable cellular differentiation, including highly cellular areas of pleomorphic cells, areas of spindle cells and lipoblasts in a myxoid background, and areas of well-differentiated lipogenic cells. The histologic diagnosis was myxoid liposarcoma. The thoracic cavity is a rare site for liposarcoma in the dog. The cytologic features of lipoblasts together with a mucopolysaccharide matrix were useful for distinguishing the myxoid variant of liposarcoma from other forms of liposarcoma and myxoid sarcomas.

There is variation amongst published studies as to whether epithelial cells are included in differential counts for tracheal wash (TW) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytology in horses. The aim of this study was to determine whether inclusion / exclusion of epithelial cells affects interpretation of airway cytology. Using criteria of >20% TW neutrophils, >10% BAL neutrophils and >5% BAL mast cells to indicate airway inflammation, 21%, 4% and 8% of horses changed from being categorised as 'normal' to 'abnormal' when epithelial cells were excluded from differential counts. It is recommended that future equine respiratory research studies explicitly state whether epithelial cells are included or excluded in differential counts. A consensus on epithelial cell inclusion during cytology reporting is required.