Feline Nasosorption Cytokine Measurement for Cats with Chronic Nasal Disease

Enrollment Status: Open/Enrolling

Inclusion Criteria: To be enrolled, cats must have a history of chronic nasal disease, including sneezing, nasal discharge, and/or noisy breathing for at least 4 weeks. Cats enrolled in the study will already be presenting to the Internal Medicine Service for evaluation of the aforementioned complaint. As part of their standard diagnostic workup, cats will undergo bloodwork, urinalysis, infectious disease testing, advanced imaging, and endoscopic evaluation as recommended to rule out other causes of nasal disease.  

Exclusion Criteria: Other causes of nasal disease which are not rhinitis, diagnosed or receiving treatment for other major systemic disease(s), unable to undergo anesthesia due to health status

Study Design: Enrolled cats will be fasted for a period of 8 hours (overnight) prior to their visit. Each cat will receive a physical examination and intravenous catheter placement on the day of the study. Sedation and general anesthesia will be used to safely perform all procedures. Cats will also undergo a CT scan of the head and endoscopic examination of the nasal passages, which are standard diagnostic procedures for chronic nasal disease. Samples will be collected from the nose using three methods: a soft absorbent strip placed gently into the nose (nasosorption), nasal flushing with sterile saline, and small nasal tissue biopsies. Cats will be discharged following recovery from anesthesia. 

Costs: The study will cover the costs of the additional research sample collection and laboratory testing related to the study. Standard tests and procedures performed as part of the normal medical workup for chronic nasal disease, including bloodwork, anesthesia, CT scan, rhinoscopy, biopsies, medications, and hospitalization, will not be covered by the study and will remain the responsibility of the owner. Any additional treatments or follow-up care recommended for the cat’s medical condition outside of the research study will also be the responsibility of the owner. 

Contact: Dr. Stuart Walton, Principal Investigator, stuartawalton@ufl.edu  

Dr. Karryssa Fenderson, karryssa.fenders@ufl.edu 

Dr. Domenico Santoro, dsantoro@ufl.edu  

Small Animal Hospital 352-392-2235 

Background: Cats can develop long-lasting inflammation in the nose that causes sneezing, nasal discharge , and trouble breathing. Veterinarians still do not fully understand why this disease happens, and current treatments often only help symptoms for a short time. This study will compare different ways of collecting samples from the nose to measure proteins involved in inflammation. One of these methods, called nasosorption, is less invasive and may be safer and more comfortable for cats than current methods. The goal of this research is to find a reliable way to study inflammation inside the nose while reducing the need for more invasive procedures under anesthesia. By learning more about how the immune system behaves in cats with chronic inflammation in the nose, we hope to improve future treatment options.  

You can also fill out the Study Interest form for more information.