Portal vein and aortic thromboses in a Siberian husky with ehrlichiosis and hypothyroidism

A six-year-old, neutered male Siberian husky was presented for euthanasia for end-stage liver disease. Examination of the dog raised questions regarding the severity of the condition. It had presented to the referring veterinarian with polyuria, polydipsia and weight loss. Blood tests at that time r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of small animal practice Vol. 44; no. 9; pp. 408 - 410
Main Authors:	Bressler, C, Himes, L.C, Moreau, R.E
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-09-2003
Subjects:	Animals Aorta, Thoracic ascites aspirin Aspirin - therapeutic use cachexia clinical examination Diagnosis, Differential Dog Diseases - diagnosis Dog Diseases - diagnostic imaging Dog Diseases - drug therapy Dog Diseases - pathology Dogs doxycycline Doxycycline - therapeutic use Ehrlichia canis Ehrlichia canis - isolation & purification ehrlichiosis Ehrlichiosis - complications Ehrlichiosis - diagnosis Ehrlichiosis - veterinary enzymes euthanasia hematologic tests hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism - complications Hypothyroidism - diagnosis Hypothyroidism - veterinary L-thyroxine liver Liver Cirrhosis - complications Liver Cirrhosis - diagnosis Liver Cirrhosis - veterinary Male Portal Vein Thrombosis - complications Thrombosis - diagnosis Thrombosis - veterinary Thyroxine - therapeutic use ticks ultrasonics Ultrasonography vasculitis veterinarians weight loss
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Summary:	A six-year-old, neutered male Siberian husky was presented for euthanasia for end-stage liver disease. Examination of the dog raised questions regarding the severity of the condition. It had presented to the referring veterinarian with polyuria, polydipsia and weight loss. Blood tests at that time revealed elevated liver enzymes and hypoalbuminaemia. Cirrhosis was presumptively diagnosed, based on an ultrasound examination, which showed ascites with a normal liver. The dog had a history of hypothyroidism, which was controlled with levothyroxine. Physical examination revealed cachexia. A second abdominal ultrasound examination was performed and revealed portal vein and aortic thromboses. Tick titres showed a positive Ehrlichia canis titre of 1:640. Skin biopsies showed lymphoplasmacytic vasculitis. Doxycycline and aspirin treatment was initiated, and the clinical signs resolved. The authors concluded that the thrombi were primarily caused by chronic ehrlichiosis, based on the clinical findings and the response to treatment.
Bibliography:	istex:B68D12A7DE5F881D0155F11EBA43A6BD1F86AFC6 ark:/67375/WNG-Q5QDTJ5D-V ArticleID:JSAP408 ObjectType-Case Study-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-4 content type line 23 ObjectType-Report-1 ObjectType-Article-3
ISSN:	0022-4510 1748-5827
DOI:	10.1111/j.1748-5827.2003.tb00177.x