Joint fluid from a dog
Case Information
A 3-year-old, spayed female Belgian Malinois was presented to a rehabilitation specialist veterinarian with a complaint of several weeks of perceived lameness in the forelimbs and observed difficulty rising in the hind limbs. The dog’s condition was not responsive to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Physical examination and radiographs revealed effusions in the left carpus, and both stifles and tarsi. The effusive joints were noted to be painful on manipulation. The dog had previously tested negative for Lyme disease approximately five months prior to sample submission and was historically positive for antibodies against Anaplasma. Synoviocentesis was performed on multiple joints and slides and fluid were submitted to the Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) at Cornell University for cytologic evaluation.
Examine the data from the right stifle joint fluid analysis and representative images taken from a sediment smear prepared in the AHDC clinical pathology laboratory from the submitted fluid (Figures 1-2). Then answer the questions below.
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- Is the fluid inflammatory or non-inflammatory in nature?
- Are there clues in the sediment smears as to the cause of the effusion in multiple joints?
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