A 3 -year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat was evaluated because of an acute onset of intermittently increased respiratory effort, open-mouth breathing and cough. Physical examination revealed no specific findings on auscultation, but tachypnea and laboured breathing were observed. Atelectasis of the right lung was suspected because of rightward mediastinal shift observed on thoracic radiographs ( Fig 1 A ). The cranial displacement of the right diaphragmatic crus also suggested right lung volume reduction. Thoracic CT revealed an abnormally small right lung that was well-aerated without atelectasis ( Fig 1 B ). Conventional contrast-enhanced CT ( Fig 1 C ) and three-dimensional volume rendering images ( Fig 1 D ) revealed absence of the right branch of the pulmonary artery.Congenital absence of the right pulmonary artery, which embryologically originates from the right sixth aortic arch, is seldom reported in the veterinary literature. In similarly affected humans, most patients have a relatively benign clinical course and are commonly unrecognised until adulthood. The clinical signs of unilateral absence of the pulmonary artery (UAPA) can be variable, including recurrent pulmonary infection, respiratory distress on exertion, exercise intolerance, haemoptysis or other signs associated with pulmonary hypertension.The cat's respiratory signs diminished after two weeks' treatment with enrofloxacin and metronidazole, leading to the suspicion of superimposed infection. Frequent respiratory infections have been reported in 37 to 40% of human patients with UAPA.
Objectives Heartworm-associated respiratory disease (HARD) is a recently recognised pathological manifestation in cats caused by Dirofilaria immitis exposure. This study aimed to estimate the percentage of cats at risk of developing HARD in a heartworm-endemic area (Taipei, Taiwan), and to test the correlation of heartworm exposure and the presence of lower airway/lung clinical signs (LA/L signs). Methods This was a prospective case-control study. The study design called for the enrolment of at least 80 cats with LA/L signs and at least 80 cats without such clinical signs in a 1 year period. The D immitis antibody seroprevalence of the two cohorts was compared. Results From February 2014 to January 2015, 187 client-owned cats were prospectively enrolled: 83 clinical cases with LA/L signs and 104 cats without such signs. Antibody seropositivity was approximately twice as frequent in cats with LA/L signs (13.3%) than in cats without signs (7.8%) (odds ratio [OR] 1.814); nevertheless, no statistically significant difference between the two cohorts ( P = 0.22) was found. We used 41 frozen samples from free-roaming cats to examine the possibility of different exposure rates to mosquito bites between client-owned cats and stray cats, finding the seroprevalence to be 7.5% in free-roaming cats - a result not statistically different to that in client-owned cats ( P = 0.60). Outdoor access was a significant risk factor for heartworm exposure in client-owned cats (OR 3.748; P = 0.03); however, living entirely indoors did not provide complete protection from exposure/infection. Conclusions and relevance Our results did not show statistically significant differences in antibody seroprevalence between cats with and without LA/L signs. LA/L signs were not always present under conditions of natural exposure. However, exposure to D immitis is not rare among client-owned cats, suggesting that heartworm prophylactics should be a part of routine care in all cats living in areas endemic for canine heartworm.
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