A retrospective study of clinical and laboratory features and treatment on cats highly suspected of feline infectious peritonitis in Wuhan, China

Abstract

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a systemic, potentially fatal viral disease. The objectives of this study were to review clinical and laboratory features and treatment of cats highly suspected of FIP in Wuhan, China. The clinical records of 127 cats highly suspected of FIP were reviewed for history, clinical signs, physical findings, and diagnostic test results. Sex, neutering status, breed, age, and month of onset of disease were compared with the characteristics of the clinic population. Age and neutering status were significantly correlated with FIP-suspicion. Sex, breed and onset month were not associated with FIP. There were many more FIP-suspected cases in cats in young cats or male intact cats. Effusion was observed in 85.8% of the FIP-suspected cats. Increased serum amyloid A (SAA) and lymphopenia were common laboratory abnormalities in the FIP cases. Furthermore, 91.7% of the cats highly suspected of FIP had an albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio < 0.6, while 85.3% had an A/G ratio < 0.5. The mortality rate for FIP-suspected cats was 67%, and six submitted cases were confirmed by FIP-specific immunohistochemistry. Of the 30 cats treated with GS-441524 and/or GC376, 29 were clinically cured. The study highlights the diverse range of clinical manifestations by clinicians in diagnosing this potentially fatal disease. A/G ratio and SAA were of higher diagnostic value. GS-441524 and GC376 were efficient for the treatment of FIP-suspected cats.