Hsu Kimberly, Snead Elisabeth, Davies Jennifer, Carr Anthony
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2012 May-Jun;48(3):209-15. doi: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-5740. Epub 2012 Apr 3.
An 8 yr old male English bulldog receiving treatment for immune-mediated thrombocytopenia was diagnosed with calcinosis cutis 90 days after initiation of corticosteroid therapy. Twenty-four days later, the patient presented in a comatose state after collapsing and was euthanized. Postmortem examination revealed coronary arteriosclerosis and myocardial infarction leading to congestive heart failure. Calcinosis cutis and myocardial necrosis were most likely complications associated with administration of corticosteroids in this dog. Important implications regarding the classification of calcinosis cutis and the use of immunosuppressive doses of corticosteroids are discussed.
