Case of Feline Idiopathic Immune-mediated Thrombocytopenia Effectively Treated with Cyclophosphamide after Splenectomy

• Published in: Journal of the Japan Veterinary Medical Association Vol. 67; no. 4; pp. 269 - 273
• Main Authors: ANO, Hitoshi, FUJINO, Miho, KATAMOTO, Hiromu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Veterinary Medical Association 20.04.2014
• Subjects: Cat; Cyclophosphamide; Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia
• ISSN: 0446-6454; 2186-0211
• DOI: 10.12935/jvma.67.269

A thirteen-month-old castrated female Somali cat was presented for the investigation of petechiae of the skin's surface and thrombocytopenia. Based on the hematological examination, bone marrow cytology and differential diagnosis, the cat was diagnosed with idiopathic immune-mediated thrombocytopenia and treated with prednisolone and cyclosporine. However, the response to the treatment was poor. Furthermore, intravenous human immunoglobulin administration showed only a temporary effect. We therefore performed a splenectomy. Afterwards, the platelet count recovered once, but it subsequently decreased recurred following a reduction in the prednisolone dose. We therefore performed combination therapy of prednisolone and cyclophosphamide. The platelet count recovered promptly, and a good response was obtained thereafter. In this case, after attempts were made to investigate the therapeutic effects of various drugs on the feline immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, it was suggested that a combination of a splenectomy and drug therapy might be effective even when the reaction to the drug therapy was poor.