AFGHANS ARE US -HEALTH

ASPERGILLUS AND HYPOTHYROIDISM

OLIVER'S STORY

Oliver's story is reproduced here with kind permission of his owner Brenda Atkinson

 I have written this story to try to help educate people as to what is out there that you may not be aware of, if this story can help one person and one dog then it has been worth  it.

For a few days prior to the following story Oliver had been quiet and lethargic but there was nothing I could really pin point.

It all started on the 9th June 2003

 Solitaire and Oliver slept downstairs, when I got up that morning there was blood splattered up the walls, I couldn’t find any sign as to where it could be coming from so I checked Solitaire to see if she had come in season, no not that. Cleaned up, fed and walked them and then went to work, I came home to the same thing, blood up the walls again, once again no sign as to where it came from so that evening we went to the vet, he could find no sign as to what was wrong either.

 The next morning there was blood again, this time I found a splat of blood on Oliver's front so took him off to the vet, his temperature was normal he thought he was allergic/asthmatic. This was treated as an infection in the throat and was treated with marbocyl 5mgs 3 times a day.

14th June Oliver no better, he had gone of his food and was very lethargic, I took him back to the vet and told him it was coming from his nose as I had seen him sneeze blood.  He treated him with Oxycare 250m 3 times a day suggested chest x-ray and his temperature was now 103.2.
 I told the vet that the problem was coming from his nose but vet insisted on the chest x-ray.

 17th June: Another nose bleed with a yellow discharge from the right hand side, he was booked in for an x-ray and possible nose flush, it was suggested that it could be Aspergillus or a tumour. A swab was taken from his right nostril for c+s plus a smear for chlorhex, the swab was sent off to be cultured, they found some loss of normal bony architecture on right side of his nostril plus soft tissue inflammation. The smear showed lots of bacteria-cocci.

 I phoned Oliver's breeder Hazel Cranham, I was panicking as I had not heard of Aspergillus and neither had she but Hazel searched the Internet and found a lot of info for me.

 27th June: Culture still in progress but showing signs of Aspergillus, Oliver had a nose bleed at the vets, there was also blood in his faeces by now, they suggest mild colitis and they did Aspergillus serology to back up culture, they were worried that the Aspergillus could be a secondary growth. Poor Ollie was really sick at this point, I was very scared I thought I was going to loose him.

 7th July Test back Aspergillus 1 Bacter1 positive.

 Ok so now I had got options as to how I would like them to treat him.

 Option 1: Oral Kentoconazole very costly with only 60-70% success and treatment could take months to work I didn’t feel Ollie had months to waste as he was getting worse.

 Option 2: Topical flushing under a general with Clotrimazole solution, 85-90% success with follow up x-rays. I was also told of another option which I didn’t even consider and that was putting Ollie to sleep (this is how serious it was!) but I do have a very good vet and we came to an arrangement as to me paying as the treatment is very expensive and so I took option 2.

 21st July Ollie was given Rimadyl 50mg tabs 3.48 1/2 twice a day for 6 days, 8x Noroclav 250mg ta5.28 1 twice a day, the bleeding was getting worse and also turning into snotty discharge and very swollen, poor Ollie was in a lot of pain, he was given non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and Liquamycin Oxytetracycline  Antibiotics, (a broad spectrum antibiotic, containing 200 mg of oxytetracycline per ml, for the treatment of diseases caused by susceptible gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria ) and had a nasal flush booked for the 25th.

 25th July: Off we went to the vet to sort poor Ollie's problem out, I was very nervous as Ollie was a very ill dog and was in the hands of the vet now, all I could do was pray and hope my boy was strong enough to survive.

 I waited, the vet phoned me after what felt like a life time, in reality it was only 4 hours, I was able to go see him but they wanted to keep him over night. I was assured a nurse would stay a the hospital through the night to keep a check as there were others that had operations that day too.

 26th July: I was told I could take Oliver home, the poor lamb was so pleased to see me but was still very poorly, weak and could barely stand unaided.
He was sent home with Rimadyl 50mg half a tablet twice a day for four days, Noroclav 250mg 1 tablet twice a day for 7 days, 1 canine sens chick.
No nasal discharge over night TPR MM;CRT;Habitus;NAD

 28th July:  lab report; biochemestry back.

 30th July: Still very worried so phoned vet, they said bring him back in immediately, Ollie not eating or drinking very much and still very lethargic, his temperature was normal now although his faeces was very dark. He was given 1x3 Synulox rtu injection (containing 35 mg/ml clavulanic acid as Potassium clavulanate and 140 mg/ml amoxicillin as Amoxicillin trihydrate), BN26965901 1x Rimadyl injection,1x fluids i/v Hartman, 1 Xangiocath 20g also taken, they decided to keep Ollie in again for observation.

 31st July: Ollie was brighter today but the vet wants to keep him another day, i/v Hartma given, he was starting to go to the toilet properly, 1x canine sens chick.

 1st Aug: Finished on the drip now, still quite bright, nose still painful though and has sinusitis due to the nasal flush. Sent home with 4mg Rimadyl and Bisolvon to promote the draining of mucus that’s been left in his nose after flushing, at last I could breath a sigh of relief Ollie was well and truly on the mend, he continued to sneeze for a couple of weeks and had 2 weekly checks and eventually had to have a 6 monthly check to ensure he was still clear but all was ok, my Ollie was back to his old self.

Sadly Oliver's story continues

 As I was told that some of his litter mates had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism I had already had him tested earlier and was told all was ok but it was only a T4 test done which didn't tell the whole story and my vets didn't understand the differences in Sighthounds thyroid levels and testing them. Oliver's muscle condition was deteriorating and on the 27th August 2007 while out on his last usual walk of the night, he went down on his back legs and really struggled to get home, stopping after only a few steps to lay down and not get up.

 28th Aug:  I phoned the vet and was told to take him over straight away, full bloods were taken this time and the outcome was that poor Ollie was definitely  hypothyroid. He is still down on his legs but able to get around happily. He also has fatty lipids in his eyes which is the only other external sign of his problems. The good news is he is stable and is on Thyroxyl 0.5mg twice a day, I had to go armed with all the information from the Health Pages to my vet to make him understand Ollie needed medicating twice daily, not just once, I had quite a fight on my hands making the vet understand he was also going to be overdosing Ollie by giving him the amount of medication that non Sighthounds need but we got there in the end and he is doing very well. He is now twelve and 1/2 years old and enjoying a slower pace of life on the bed or sofa.

 7 weeks ago Ollie went for his routine 6 monthly blood tests and health check and I was shocked to find he had developed a small testicular tumour, after discussions with my own vet and with Ollie's breeder it has been decided that as he is happy and not in any pain to leave well alone unless things worsen and enjoy each day as it comes with him.

Brenda ( Kandikhan) 23rd April 2009

 Footnote:  There are over 180 species of Aspergillus fungi and they generally do not cause disease unless the host has a compromised immune system or gets a very big exposure to the fungus. The most common species to cause problems in veterinary patients are Aspergillus fumigatus (Nasal) and Aspergillus tereus (Systemic)