2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

In this patient population, good agreement existed between the presence or absence of bacteria in bile cytology and positive or negative culture results, respectively. Evidence of inflammation alone was poorly associated with culture and bactibilia. Empiric antimicrobial therapy targeting Enterococcus spp. and E.coli isolates may be considered in clinically ill patients with cytologic bactibilia while confirmatory bacterial culture results are pending. Standard Poodles have been suggested to suffer from a breedrelated chronic hepatitis, and the Poodle Club of America lists chronic hepatitis as a health issue. The purpose of this prospective study was to characterize the liver histology and clinical course of Standard Poodles suspected to have chronic hepatitis. Liver tissue from Standard Poodles suspected to have chronic hepatitis were solicited over a period of approximately three years. Patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy were excluded. Veterinarians and owners were contacted for long-term outcome information. Liver samples were submitted for histologic diagnosis, and case histories were reviewed. Inflammation was grouped into the following categories: Acute Hepatitis, Chronic Hepatitis (including Copper-associated Hepatitis and Cirrhosis), and Reactive Hepatitis. Lesions were also assigned a total score out of 30 points for 7 histologic features: lobular collapse; bile duct hyperplasia; interface hepatitis; focal lytic necrosis/apoptosis/random inflammation; portal inflammation; zonal necrosis; and fibrosis. Hepatic metal quantification (copper, zinc, and iron) was performed when adequate tissue was available, and in the remainder, copper and iron content was assessed semiquantitatively through histochemical staining. 42 eligible liver biopsies were received, 35 of which were available for quantitative histologic review, and the results are summarized below. Chronic hepatitis was the most common diagnosis (57% of submissions) in this group of Standard Poodles with clinicopathologic evidence of liver disease. In general, these patients responded well to immunomodulatory therapy; however, patients with a total histologic score greater than 18 had a poor prognosis. Nonspecific reactive hepatitis was also common (38% of submissions), and dogs in this group were frequently also affected by gastrointestinal or pancreaticobiliary disease. In this group of Standard Poodles, both chronic and reactive hepatitis were frequently identified. Reactive hepatitis was nonspecific and often associated with concurrent extra-hepatic disease. There were no consistent histologic features of chronic hep-atitis that appear unique to the breed, and primary copper-associated hepatitis was not the main etiology in this group of dogs. Whether chronic hepatitis is a breed-specific condition in the Standard Poodle remains to be elucidated through further studies. The cause of gallbladder mucocele formation in dogs is unknown. Drugs used for the prevention of flea and tick infestation, heartworm infection, and those commonly used for adjunctive treatment of degenerative joint disease, represent a newergeneration of xenobiotics to which dogs are chronically exposed. We speculate that pharmacogenomic differences in drug metabolism may be a reason for gallbladder mucoceles to develop. In this study, we examined the medical records of dogs diagnosed at our institution with a gallbladder mucocele and matched controls (1 to 2 ratio) based on age, breed, and adm