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CASE REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Experimental and Diagnostic Pathology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1451299

Case report: Disseminated Cladophialophora bantiana phaeohyphomycosis in a dog with hepatic dysfunction, and concurrent ehrlichiosis

Provisionally accepted
Flavio Alonso Flavio Alonso 1,2*Heather Fenton Heather Fenton 1Ananda Muller Ananda Muller 1Mark Freeman Mark Freeman 1Anne A. Becker Anne A. Becker 1Kerry Rolph Kerry Rolph 1Nicole Abramo Nicole Abramo 1Gilda Rawlins Gilda Rawlins 1Liam Kitson Liam Kitson 1Erica Kessel Erica Kessel 1Mary Anna Thrall Mary Anna Thrall 1
  • 1 Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • 2 School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    A 1-year-old mixed breed dog initially presented with marked ascites due to a low-protein transudate resulting from portal hypertension. Laboratory evaluation revealed non-regenerative anemia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, laboratory evidence of hepatic insufficiency (hypoalbuminemia, decreased urea, increased post-prandial bile acids, prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT)) and Ehrlichia canis infection. Approximately a week later, the dog was falling declining and was euthanized. On autopsy, multifocal hepatic granulomas and acquired portosystemic shunts (APSS) were seen. Imprint cytology revealed fungal hyphae and pyogranulomatous inflammation in the liver and brain. Disseminated Cladophialophora bantiana phaeohyphomycosis was diagnosed by histologic examination, culture and PCR.Immunosuppression due to ehrlichiosis is suspected to have predisposed this animal to fungal infectionImmunosuppression is suspected to have arisen from Rickettsial disease and predisposed fungal infection. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of C. bantiana in the West Indies.This case appears to be the first report of C. bantiana in the West Indies.

    Keywords: Fungal Infection, Hepatopathy, low-protein transudate, portal hypertension, Acquired portosystemic shunt

    Received: 19 Jun 2024; Accepted: 15 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Alonso, Fenton, Muller, Freeman, Becker, Rolph, Abramo, Rawlins, Kitson, Kessel and Thrall. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Flavio Alonso, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

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