Abstract
We describe an unusual case of prostatitis caused by Streptococcus canis evolving to endocarditis and splenic, renal, and cerebral thromboembolism in a dog, associated with a Sertoli cell tumour in a cryptic testis and diffuse prostatic squamous metaplasia. A nine-year-old, intact male, mixed-breed dog was presented to a veterinary teaching hospital with abdominal pain and prostration. Physical examination and abdominal ultrasonography revealed an atrophic right testicle located in the subcutaneous tissue. The left testicle was in the abdominal cavity with increased dimensions and irregular contours. Complete blood count analysis showed marked neutrophilic leukocytosis and thrombocytopenia. After clinical worsening, euthanasia was performed, and the dog was submitted to post-mortem examination. The main gross findings included testicular malposition with one cryptic and one ectopic testis, enlarged prostate with purulent content, distension of the urinary bladder with cloudy urine, vegetative valvular endocarditis in the mitral valve, and spleen and renal infarcts. Histological examination showed a Sertoli cell tumour in the abdominal testis, diffuse prostatic squamous metaplasia with marked keratinization associated with bacterial prostatitis, fibrinonecrotic cystitis, bacterial endocarditis with marked myxomatous degeneration in the mitral valve, and splenic, renal, and cerebral thromboembolism. Microbiological analysis identified Streptococcus canis in the prostate and mitral valve. Sertoli cell tumour of cryptic testis increases oestrogen production and leads to squamous metaplasia of the prostate, which should be considered as predisposing factors for ascending S. canis infection from the urogenital tract to the prostate. Then, haematogenous spread of S. canis from the prostate to mitral valve cause endocarditis and subsequent thromboembolism and infarcts, all decisive to poor prognosis in this case.
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Financial support was provided by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Finance code 001, and Pró-reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
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All authors contributed to the revision of the paper approving the submitted version and agree to the copyright conditions. Mônica Slaviero: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Writing - original draft preparation. Bruno Albuquerque de Almeida: Investigation, Methodology, Writing - review and editing. Emanoelly Machado Sousa da Silva: Investigation, Methodology, Writing - review and editing. Caroline Konflanz: Investigation, Writing - review and editing. Larissa Caló Zitelli - Investigation, Methodology, Writing - review and editing. Franciele Maboni Siqueira: Investigation, Methodology, Writing - review and editing. Saulo Petinatti Pavarini: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing - review and editing.
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We authors of the article entitled “Streptococcus canis prostatitis and endocarditis with thromboembolism in a dog with Sertoli cell tumour in a cryptic testis and prostatic squamous metaplasia” declared, for all due purposes, the project that gave rise to the present data agrees with the content of the Brazilian resolutions of the National Council for Control of Animal Experimentation – CONCEA if it involves animals. Thus, the authors assume full responsibility for the presented data and are available for possible questions, should they be required by the competent authorities.
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Slaviero, M., de Almeida, B.A., da Silva, E.M.S. et al. Streptococcus canis prostatitis and endocarditis with thromboembolism in a dog with sertoli cell tumour in a cryptic testis and prostatic squamous metaplasia. Vet Res Commun 47, 1759–1766 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-022-10065-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-022-10065-y