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The diagnosis and treatment of a thoracic abscess in an alpaca
Author(s) -
ADOLF JE,
DYKES NL,
SEMEVOLOS S,
DIVERS TJ
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2001.tb10668.x
Subject(s) - medicine , lethargy , abscess , mediastinum , etiology , radiology , mediastinal mass , surgery , actinomyces , radiography , pathology , genetics , biology , bacteria
A 6‐month‐old alpaca presented for lethargy, failure to thrive and leucocytosis. Diagnostic procedures, including thoracic ultrasound, radiographs and a computed tomography scan, were used to document a thoracic mass. Based on appearance and ultrasound‐guided aspiration of purulent material, the mass was determined to be a large abscess. The abscess was treated with surgical drainage and long‐term antibiotic therapy. The origin of this thoracic abscess was felt to be the caudal mediastinum, secondary to bacterial seeding of the caudal mediastinal lymph nodes. Although an aetiological agent was not definitively determined, the most likely was Actinomyces spp or Arcanobacterium pyogenes . The alpaca made a complete recovery following treatment.