Diagnostic findings in sinonasal aspergillosis in dogs in the United Kingdom: 475 cases (2011-2021)

OBJECTIVES

To describe the diagnostic tests used and their comparative performance in dogs diagnosed with sinonasal aspergillosis in the United Kingdom. A secondary objective was to describe the signalment, clinical findings and common clinicopathologic abnormalities in sinonasal aspergillosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A multi-centre retrospective survey was performed involving 23 referral centres in the United Kingdom to identify dogs diagnosed with sinonasal aspergillosis from January 2011 to December 2021. Dogs were included if fungal plaques were seen during rhinoscopy or if ancillary testing (via histopathology, culture, cytology, serology or PCR) was positive and other differential diagnoses were excluded.

RESULTS

A total of 662 cases were entered into the database across the 23 referral centres. Four hundred and seventy-five cases met the study inclusion criteria. Of these, 419 dogs had fungal plaques and compatible clinical signs. Fungal plaques were not seen in 56 dogs with turbinate destruction that had compatible clinical signs and a positive ancillary test result. Ancillary diagnostics were performed in 312 of 419 (74%) dogs with observed fungal plaques permitting calculation of sensitivity of cytology as 67%, fungal culture 59%, histopathology 47% and PCR 71%.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The sensitivities of ancillary diagnostics in this study were lower than previously reported challenging the clinical utility of such tests in sinonasal aspergillosis. Treatment and management decisions should be based on a combination of diagnostics including imaging findings, visual inspection, and ancillary testing, rather than ancillary tests alone.

Maternal and gestational factors in cryptorchidism

Previous epidemiological studies of cryptorchidism have led to the hypothesis that the risk of undescended testis is associated with excess oestrogen exposure during pregnancy. A case-control study was undertaken to test this hypothesis, comparing mothers of affected boys (244) and normal male births (488) born within six months of a case selected randomly from the British Columbia population. Information was collected on the mother's reproductive history, family history, and past medical history, and events surrounding all pregnancies ending in a birth. The results were analysed using both the population-based sample of male births and the male sibs of cases as control groups. Neither exogenous oestrogen exposure, nor any of the pregnancy-related variables hypothesized to be indirect indicators of endogenous oestrogen exposure, including bleeding and nausea and/or vomiting, were found to be significantly associated with risk of undescended testes in either comparison. More mothers with later index births reported menstrual irregularity greater than half the time, and smoking, thought to have a protective effect, was more prevalent among case mothers than control mothers. No other variables were significantly different between case and control mothers. The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that elevated exogenous or endogenous oestrogen exposure during pregnancy increases the risk of undescended testis in male children.

Intramuscular lorazepam. A double-blind comparison with diazepam and placebo

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 24 anxiety neurotic patients were randomly assigned equally into the intramuscular placebo, lorazepam or diazepam groups. The results indicated that lorazepam was as effective as diazepam in overall efficacy and was superior to diazepam in certain cluster scores including the Obsessive Compulsive Phobic Cluser of the Wittenborn Psychiatric Rating Scale.