Presentation
Presents with coughing episodes lasting up to two minutes with occasional vomiting.
Patient Data
The cardiac silhouette is moderately enlarged on all projections and appears base-wide on the ventrodorsal projections. The pulmonary vasculature is normal in size. There is a diffuse bronchointerstitial pattern throughout the lungs. There is mild atelectasis of the right middle lung lobe.
Cardiomyopathy and chronic lower airway disease. There is no evidence of heart failure.
Case Discussion
Chronic lower airway disease with secondary right middle lung lobe atelectasis. This may have an infectious and/or noninfectious component. Bronchoscopy was not pursued in this case.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was diagnosed on echocardiography with severe bilateral atrial enlargement.
The hallmark of chronic lower airway disease in cats is a bronchial pattern. The inflammation causes thickening of the airways and partial obstruction with mucus. Mucus plugging of the airways is a common finding in inflammatory lower airway disease with subsequent collapse of the right middle lung lobe. The right middle lobe is susceptible to atelectasis due to its dorsoventral orientation. It appears smaller in size and more radiopaque, but not as radiopaque as one sees with an alveolar pattern.
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.