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Canine Gastrointestinal Pythiosis Treatment by Combined Antifungal and Immunotherapy and Review of Published Studies

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Abstract

Pythium insidiosum is an oomycete, a fungal like microorganism, which infects mammals, causing pythiosis in animals and humans, especially in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The treatment for this infection is very difficult, and therapeutic options commonly comprise surgery, immunotherapy and antimicrobial drugs. The present report describes the clinical healing of a dog with gastrointestinal pythiosis by treatment with a combination of antifungals and immunotherapy, as well as reviews the cases reported in the literature that used some type of therapy for canine pythiosis. A 2.5-year-old male beagle initially showed sporadic vomiting episodes, and this symptom became more frequent 5 months after the onset of clinical signs. Celiotomy procedure found thickness of the stomach wall extending to the pylorus and duodenum. A biopsy was performed, and the diagnosis of pythiosis was made by mycological, histopathological analyses and molecular identification. Therapy was based on an association of terbinafine plus itraconazole during 12 months and immunotherapy for 2.5 months. The healing of the dog reported here allows us to propose the use of immunotherapy associated with antifungal therapy to treat canine gastrointestinal pythiosis. However, additional studies should be performed on a larger number of patients to establish a standard treatment protocol for canine pythiosis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank LAPEMI (Laboratório de Pesquisas Micológicas/Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil) for providing the immunotherapic PitiumVAC®.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors of this manuscript has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper. Janio M. Santurio has a commercial interest in the immunotherapy product.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Micologia, Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), Prédio 18, Sala 14, Campus Capão do Leão, Pelotas, RS, 96010-900, Brazil

    Daniela I. B. Pereira & Anelise O. S. Fonseca

  2. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Centro de Ciências Rurais, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

    Sônia A. Botton

  3. Laboratório de Pesquisas Micológicas, Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

    Maria I. Azevedo, Francielli P. K. Jesus, Sydney H. Alves & Janio M. Santurio

  4. Autonomous Veterinarian, Pelotas, RS, Brazil

    Marco A. A. Motta & Raulene R. Lobo

  5. Laboratório Regional de Diagnóstico, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), Pelotas, RS, Brazil

    Mauro P. Soares

Authors
  1. Daniela I. B. Pereira
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  2. Sônia A. Botton
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  3. Maria I. Azevedo
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  4. Marco A. A. Motta
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  5. Raulene R. Lobo
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  6. Mauro P. Soares
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  7. Anelise O. S. Fonseca
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  8. Francielli P. K. Jesus
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  9. Sydney H. Alves
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  10. Janio M. Santurio
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniela I. B. Pereira.

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Pereira, D.I.B., Botton, S.A., Azevedo, M.I. et al. Canine Gastrointestinal Pythiosis Treatment by Combined Antifungal and Immunotherapy and Review of Published Studies. Mycopathologia 176, 309–315 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-013-9683-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-013-9683-7

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