Author(s):
Lopes, Ricardo ; Sampaio, Filipe ; Lima de Carvalho, Hugo ; Garcês, Andreia ; Fernandes, Cátia ; Neves, Carolina Vitória ; Sardinha de Brito, Alexandre ; Marques, Tiago ; Sousa, Carlos ; Silva, Ana Rita ; Martins, Ângela ; Cardoso, Luís ; Coelho, Ana Cláudia ; Duarte, Elsa Leclerc
Date: 2025
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/38535
Origin: Repositório Científico da Universidade de Évora
Subject(s): Feline Infectious Peritonitis; Feline Coronavirus; delta total nucleated cells (∆TNC); FIP Effusion Index;
Description
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led the medical and scientific community to explore the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of coronaviruses. In felines, a widespread coronavirus known as feline coronavirus (FCoV) can lead to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a highly fatal disease characterised by severe systemic inflammation. Diagnosing FCoV remains challenging due to the limited accuracy of the available methods. The present study introduces the FIP Effusion Index, a novel diagnostic method that combines the albumin-to-globulin (ALB/GLOB) ratio with the delta total nucleated cell (∆TNC) count obtained via flow cytometry using the Sysmex XN-1000V® analyser in effusions. Samples from cats (n = 50) with suspected FIP were analysed for ∆TNC, with findings showing that a ∆TNC ≥ 2.1 is highly indicative of FIP and a ∆TNC ≥ 4.9 can be considered diagnostic. The FIP Effusion Index enhanced diagnostic precision in our group of samples, achieving 96.3% sensitivity and 95.7% specificity for values ≥ 5.06, and reaching perfect specificity (100%) with 96.3% sensitivity for values ≥ 7.54. This combined approach surpasses the accuracy of individual parameters, establishing the FIP Effusion Index as a superior diagnostic tool for FIP, with potential applications in both veterinary and human medicine for related coronavirus diseases.
