What is your diagnosis? Abdominal fluid from a dog

A 5-year-old female spayed Dachshund was evaluated at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Clinics for chronic diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, and decreased appetite for 8 weeks. On physical examination, the dog was bright, alert, and responsive and in poor body condition. Cutaneous lesions were not found, and abdominal palpation was within normal limits. A CBC and serum biochemical profile were performed (Table 1). Abdominal ultrasonographic examination revealed moderate anechoic abdominal effusion, corrugation of the small intestine, including the duodenum, and marked thickening of the muscularis layer with preserved layering of the duodenal wall. The liver was hyperechoic with rounded margins, and the spleen was diffusely heterogeneous. Fineneedle aspirates and a tru-cut biopsy of the liver were collected. Endoscopic examination revealed an irregular and thickened, ulcerated, pale duodenal mucosa, and multiple pinch biopsies of duodenum were obtained. Abdominal fluid was blood-tinged, but cleared after centrifugation, and had a total nucleated cell count of 4800/lL and refractometric total protein concentration of 4.1 g/dL. Smears of concentrated abdominal fluid were examined (Figure 1). Figure 1. Concentrated abdominal fluid from a dog. Wright–Giemsa, bar = 10 lm. Table 1. Selected CBC and serum biochemical results from a Dachshund with abdominal effusion.