Osteomyelitis and arthrosynovitis associated with Leishmania donovani infection in a dog

Abstract

A 10-month-old male maremma shepherd dog was presented with chronic diarrhoea, moderate polyuria/polydipsia, lethargy, dysorexia and stiffness. Pain was elicited in the distal parts of all four limbs. Radiographs of the limbs showed increased endomedullary radiopacity and lysis, with thick periosteal proliferations at the metadiaphyseal areas of each radius-ulna and tibia and of the distal metacarpus on one side. Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinaemia was documented and a similar electrophoretic protein pattern was also found in the synovial fluid. Leishmania amastigotes were found in the macrophages in a bone marrow aspirate performed at the level of a distal radius and in a synovial fluid sample obtained from a carpal joint. An indirect immunofluorescence test confirmed the infection. Treatment with N-methyl-glucamine antimoniate was successful and the osteoarticular changes progressively disappeared.

Avaliação hematológica de cães naturalmente infectados por Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi submetidos a tratamento com antimoniato de meglumina

“…Before the beginning of the treatment erythrocytic hypoplasia was observed in the bone marrow cytology of two of the dogs (28.6%), which agrees with the findings of Anosa and Idowu 30 , Yamaguchi et al 34 and Buracco et al 33 , who reported that animals with visceral leishmaniasis presented bone marrow hypoplasia, and also with the reports of Kontos and Koutinas 8 , Koutinas et al 9 , Ciaramella and Corona 2 and Ikeda et al 27 , who affirmed that the anemia in dogs with visceral leishmaniasis is nonregenerative. After the administration of meglumine antimoniate, all of the anemic animals presented a regenerative erythrocytic response, evidenced by an increase in the number of erythroid progenitor cells in the bone marrow, and by the presence of polychromatophilia, polychromatic rubricytes and metarubricytes in the peripheral blood.…”

“…An increase in the number of macrophages and monocytes shown by bone marrow cytology was not observed in any of the animals, which disagrees with the findings of Anosa and Idowu 30 , Yamaguchi et al 34 and Buracco et al 33 , who stated that an increase in the number of monocytes and macrophages is very frequent in dogs with visceral leishmaniasis. In the course of the experiment one of the alterations observed through the myelogram was the occurrence of plasmocytosis in two dogs, probably due to the antigenic stimulation provoked by the infection.…”

“…In the course of the experiment one of the alterations observed through the myelogram was the occurrence of plasmocytosis in two dogs, probably due to the antigenic stimulation provoked by the infection. 30,33,34 No animal presented alterations in the values of fibrinogen determination or in the qualitative platelet count, which disagrees with the reports of Slappendel and Ferrer 10 , who verified the occurrence of thrombocytopenia in 50% of the animals studied.…”

“…On the other hand, Ikeda et al 27 , in a retrospective study on the hematological alterations of 191 dogs naturally infected by Leishmania (L.) chagasi, observed that lymphocytosis as well as lymphopenia occurred in animals regardless of the severity of their clinical pictures. Furthermore, the observation of monocytosis is common 27,33,34 , and it can be accompanied by the presence of large activated monocytes 27 .…”

“…An increase in the population of monocytes and macrophages and the elevation in the number of plasmocytes and Mott cells also occur, which may indicate antigenic stimulation associated to infection. 30,33,34 Hence, the present study aimed to verify the hematological response of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis submitted to a treatment with meglumine antimoniate.…”