References
Abstract
Feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia is a recently described disease in cats that presents as eosinophilic masses that are associated with the gastrointestinal tract and associated abdominal lymph nodes, often localised near the pylorus or ileocaecocolic junction. Feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia is seen predominantly in middle-aged cats, with Ragdoll cats being overrepresented. Clinical signs are often chronic, typically including weight loss, hyporexia and vomiting. Bloodwork abnormalities most frequently documented in cats with feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia are eosinophilia, anaemia and hypoalbuminaemia. The diagnosis of feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia is usually confirmed on histopathology and infectious organisms are identified in about one-to two-thirds of cases in different studies. Corticosteroids are important in the treatment of cats with feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia, with cats being treated by surgery alone having a significantly shorter survival time than those cats treated with surgery and corticosteroids combined.
Feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia is a recently described disease in cats that presents as eosinophilic mass(es) that are associated with the gastrointestinal tract and associated abdominal lymph nodes, often localised near the pylorus or ileocaecocolic junction (Craig et al, 2009; Linton et al, 2015). There have also been two case reports where feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia was localised to the mesentery or retroperitoneum, and even presented as a cavitated mass (Thieme et al, 2019; Kambe et al, 2020). A case report also described similar histopathologic changes outside of the abdominal cavity; a feline eosinophilic sclerosing lymphadenitis in medial retropharyngeal lymph node of a cat associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. A possible change of the name ‘feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia’ has been suggested as it might not only affect the gastrointestinal tract (Zampieri et al, 2022). Feline gastrointestinal eosinophilic sclerosing fibroplasia is likely underdiagnosed because these mass lesions can be misinterpreted as lymphoma, granuloma, fibrosarcoma, adenocarcinoma and mast cell tumour, as histopathological diagnosis can be challenging (Gamble, 2010; Schulman and Lipscomb, 2010; Munday et al, 2014; Linton et al, 2015).
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting UK-VET Companion Animal and reading some of our peer-reviewed content for veterinary professionals. To continue reading this article, please register today.