Pleural fluid from a dog with marked eosinophilia

A 12-year-old neutered male Shar-Pei was presented to the North Carolina State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital cardiology service with a 2-week history of coughing and a 2-day history of lethargy and anorexia. Pleural effusion and a mediastinal mass were detected with thoracic radiographs. Ten mL of fluid were removed via thoracocentesis, and cytologic examination of the fluid revealed marked eosinophilic inflammation and few atypical mast cells. Mast cell neoplasia was suspected. Aspirates of the mediastinal mass, abdominal lymph nodes, and bone marrow contained similar pleomorphic mast cells and increased numbers of eosinophils. The dog was diagnosed with systemic (visceral) mastocytosis, a rare form of neoplasia in dogs, and was euthanized. These tumors carry a poor to grave prognosis and the etiology is uncertain.