PLATINOSOMOSE COM EVOLUÇÃO GRAVE EM FELINO ERRANTE: RELATO DE CASO

Abstract

Feline platynosomosis is an important cause of chronic cholangitis. Platynosomum spp. is a fluke parasite of the gallbladder and bile ducts. The clinical signs of the disease are nonspecific and vary according to the parasite load, immune response and time of infection. The feline can be asymptomatic or present nonspecific clinical signs. The objective of this present study was to report a severe case of cholangitis associated with platynosomosis in a stray feline. It was attended in the city of Uberlândia-MG, Brazil, a domestic feline of the Brazilian Short Hair, male, stray feline, adult, presenting cachexia, apathy and abdominal distension. Physical examination revealed moderate dehydration, pale mucous membranes, pain on abdominal palpation and swelling in the epigastric region. A severe dilatation of extrahepatic bile ducts was observed through the surgical intervention and eggs of Platynosomum spp. in bile cytology. It is difficult to suspect platynosomosis only by evaluating the clinical signs, laboratory, parasitological and imaging tests must be performed. The ultrasound was fundamental for the screening of diseases and identifying the main focus of injury, the biliary tree. The importance of platynosomosis in feline medicine contrasts sharply with the scarcity of studies that describe the diagnosis and clinical presentation of this disease, treatment is still a challenge because the medication of choice, praziquantel, still does not have a standard dosage for this parasite.