EXPANDING THE DIAGNOSTIC APPROACH FOR FELINE ALLERGIC ASTHMA: FUNCTIONAL ANDIMMUNOLOGIC TESTING

摘要

Feline asthma is a common diagnosis made in cats with respiratory signs. There are multiple differentials for this lower airway disorder including chronic bronchitis, Aleurostrongylus abstrussus, heartworm associated respiratory disease (HARD) and ascariasis (i.e., phase when migrating through the lung). Although they have overlapping clinical and radiologic features, they are all distinct disorders with different pathophysiologic bases of disease and requiring different treatments. These differentials need to be discriminated with further testing; however, currently available diagnostics have limitations. Traditionally, a combination of an appropriate history and physical examination findings (e.g., cough, wheeze, and/or expiratory respiratory distress), thoracic radiographic features (bronchial or bronchointerstitial pattern), and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis demonstrating airway eosinophilia has been used to support a diagnosis of feline asthma. Ancillary diagnostics (fecal examination, heartworm serology) may or may not provide definitive proof of an underlying parasitic infection.