Pyogranulomatous Pleuritis with Empyema in Hunting Dogs

Abstract

Summary Nine hunting breed dogs were treated for thoracic empyema of undetermined origin. Seven dogs returned to normal health after combined pleural drainage by modified Seldinger technique and long‐term chemotherapy. Two were destroyed in the early phase of treatment. One died and one was destroyed due to recurrence. Associated signs in four of the dogs included thoracic wall swellings. In two of these, very small foreign bodies of plant origin were found intrathoracically at surgery. Predominantly anaerobic commensals of the mucous membranes were isolated from pleural exudate. Post‐mortem examination in the four cases showed productive, pyogranulomatous intrathoracic inflammation and pleural adhesions. It is proposed that inhaled small plant parts, by synergism with endogenous microorganisms of mucous membrane origin, may be of aetiologic importance in seemingly idiopathic pyogranulomatous pleuritis with empyema in hunting dogs.

Computed tomographic findings in 44 dogs and 10 cats with grass seed foreign bodies

“…During the review of medical records, numerous examples of dogs with abscesses in the cervical region or abdomen (including the sublumbar muscles) were found in which a migrating foreign body was suspected clinically to be the underlying cause, but was not proven. Grass seeds can be difficult to identify even at open surgery and diagnosis of grass seed may depend on histopathological examination of resected pyogranulomatous tissues (Frendin , Rouabdallah et al 2013, Trinterud et al ). Nidus removal is considered the optimal surgical technique for cases with suspected foreign body (Amalsadvala & Swaim ), but it requires an accurate pre‐operative method of identifying grass seeds.…”

“…Grass seed migration is a well‐recognised problem in dogs and cats (Brennan and Ihrke , Crha et al ). Grass spikes, spikelets and individual florets (which contain the grass seed) may be retrieved from many sites, including the ears, eyes, nose, brain, vertebral canal, thorax, abdomen, retroperitoneum, subcutaneous tissues and paws (Johnston & Summers , Brennan & Ihrke , Lotti & Niebauer , Aronson & Gregory , Frendin , Frendin et al , Demetroiu et al , Rooney & Monnet , Crha et al , Hopper et al , Dennis et al , Granger et al , Dembovska et al , Baglietto et al , Weinmann et al , Cerquetella et al , Marvel & MacPhail , Bouabdallah et al , Linon et al , Tinterrud et al ). In many cases, septic inflammation occurs as a result of infection by various bacteria that are carried by the seed, particularly Actinomyces or Nocardia spp.…”

Utility of bronchoscopy combined with surgery in the treatment and outcomes of dogs with intrathoracic disease secondary to plant awn migration

“…Migrating foreign bodies in the thorax have been associated with canine empyema and pneumothorax in certain geographical locations . The inhalation or ingestion of plant awns and subsequent aberrant migration within the thorax has been identified in dogs undergoing diagnostic evaluation of pyothorax with variable frequency . The etiology of pyothorax is definitively identified only within a small portion of dogs (2%–22%) in the veterinary literature, with foreign bodies such as migrating plant awns (MPA) discovered in an even smaller portion .…”

Surgical or medical management of pyothorax in dogs?

“…The presence of plant material is the most frequently reported cause of pyothorax in dogs. Actinomyces species are commonly implicated in this aetiology (Frendin 1997, Pelle and others 2000). Iatrogenic infections raise the possibility of nosocomial multiantibiotic resistant bacteria, as seen in over 50 per cent of cases in one report (Meakin and others 2013).…”

“…The common reported histopathological finding, where available, is pyogranulomatous pleuritis of predominantly the mediastinal pleura (Frendin 1997, Pelle and others 2000). …”