Photomicrographs of an aspirate from a nasal mass in a cat
Case information
An 11 year old male castrated, DSH cat presented for increased respiratory noises and sneezing for the last 3 months. He is an indoor-only cat who was adopted as a stray by the owners 5 years ago. The patient had presented to his primary care veterinarian early in the disease course and had been treated with a course of antibiotics (amoxicillin clavulanic acid) for a presumptive upper respiratory tract infection; no improvement was seen. On recheck examination a nasal mass was found and radiographs showed bony lysis in the region of the jaw. Treatment with prednisone was instituted with some improvement but symptoms returned on tapering of the dose. On presentation to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals a physical exam revealed increased respiratory rate and wheezes, a firm mass was palpated on both sides of the nose causing facial deformity and the skin to the right of the nose was erythematous. A computed tomography (CT) scan was performed and revealed destruction of the nasal turbinates and lysis of the facial bone on the left side. Nasal biopsies were taken and aspirates of the deeper areas of the mass were done. Evaluate the following representative photomicrographs of the mass aspirate and answer the following questions:
- What are your differential diagnoses for nasal disease resulting in facial deformity in a cat?
- What are the cell types present? Characterize the inflammation.
- Identify the cause of the inflammation.
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