Abstract

A 7-year-old Labrador Retriever female dog presenting left forelimb lameness for one day was admitted to the Veterinary Hospital (UNESP-Botucatu) for clinical evaluation. Several tests, including blood and image analysis, microbiological culture and cytology of lytic areas of affected bone were made in order to establish a diagnosis. Serum biochemical profile revealed increased levels of liver enzymes, plasma globulin, creatine kinase (CK) and calcium. Hemogram revealed anemia and leukocytosis; left humerus image analysis revealed an osteolytic lesion and cytology revealed a suppurative periostitis. Differential diagnosis was a nonspecific infectious inflammatory process or osteosarcoma. Since it was not possible to achieve a definitive diagnosis and there was a highly suspicious for an infectious agent, an agarose cell block of the bone marrow fine-needle aspiration was made. The cytological examination of cell block presented similar findings as described previously. However, additional stains including periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) were positive for fungal hyphae, which rendered a diagnosis of fungal osteomyelitis due to Aspergillus spp. This case report illustrates an uncommon cause of osteomyelitis for breed that was diagnosed by an underused method in veterinary medicine.

Key words: Aspergillosis, Bone, Cell Block, Cytology, Dog.