Today’s case is an 8 year old female spayed rabbit who presents with dyspnea, open mouth breathing, and nasal discharge. What’s your interpretation?
Findings
There are bronchial and alveolar infiltrates bilaterally in the dependent portions of the lungs. The caudal lung lobes appear hyperinflated with flattening of the diaphragm. The heart and pulmonary vasculature are not well identified. The right 8th and 9th ribs are fractured.
Diagnosis
Severe pneumonia.
Discussion
Results of nasal swab culture:
- Direct smear: moderate numbers poly’s & gram (-) rods.
- Culture: moderate numbers Pasteurella sp. and small numbers E. coli.
- Anaerobic culture: large numbers mixed growth
Case originally posted on October 16, 2009
pleural effusion and diffuse bronchointerstitial pattern.
The heart can not be evaluated, and the vasculature is also difficult to visualize, but does seem slightly prominent on the VD view.
On the right side there are rib fractures of the 8th and 9th ribs