Investigation of nasal disease in the cat--a retrospective study of 77 cases

A retrospective study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of different diseases in cats referred for investigation of chronic nasal disease, to identify historical, clinical and diagnostic features which may assist in making a diagnosis, and to provide information pertaining to outcome in these cats. Diagnoses included neoplasia (30 cases), chronic rhinitis (27), foreign body (8), nasopharyngeal stenosis (5), Actinomyces infection (2), nasal polyps (2), stenotic nares (2), and rhinitis subsequent to trauma (1). The most common neoplasia was lymphosarcoma (21 cases), with a median survival of 98 days for cats treated with multiagent chemotherapy. Cats with neoplasia were older on average than the other cats, and were more likely to be dyspnoeic and have a haemorrhagic and/or unilateral nasal discharge than cats with chronic rhinitis. Cats with neoplasia were more likely to have radiographic evidence of nasal turbinate destruction, septal changes, or severe increases in soft tissue density than cats with chronic rhinitis. It was unusual for cats with diseases other than neoplasia to be euthanased as a result of their nasal disease.