Skip to main content
. 2009 Jun 5:374–418. doi: 10.1016/B978-072160561-6.50021-6

Table 18-12.

Systemic Causes of Retinal Detachment in the Dog and Cat*

CAUSES DOG CAT
Infectious diseases

  • Monocytic ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis)

  • Lyme borreliosis (Borrelia burgdorferi)

  • Blastomycosis (Blastomyces dermatitidis)

  • Histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum)

  • Cryptococcosis (C. neoformans)

  • Opportunistic deep mycoses (e.g., aspergillosis)

  • Protothecosis (Prototheca zopfii, Prototheca wickerhamii)

  • Feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV)

  • Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium)

  • Cryptococcosis (Cryptococcus neoformans)

  • Blastomycosis (B. dermatitidis)

  • Coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides immitis)

Parasitic diseases Dirofilariasis (Dirofilaria immitis) Ophthalmomyiasis interna
Cardiovascular diseases

  • Systemic hypertension

  • Hyperviscosity syndrome

  • Systemic hypertension

  • Hyperviscosity syndrome
Neoplastic diseases

  • Multiple myeloma

  • Systemic histiocytosis

 —
Toxic causes —

  • Ethylene glycol toxicity (suspected)

  • Megestrol acetate (may induce diabetic retinopathy)
Other systemic causes — Periarteritis nodosa
*

Associated signs include anterior displacement of the retina and its vessels, loss of vision and pupillary light reaction, and focal/multifocal/diffuse retinal folds. Retinal detachment may also be caused by any disease causing retinal hemorrhage, as listed in Table 18-11.