Generalized megaesophagus associated with Schmidt-like syndrome in a dog

A 2-year-old intact male Asian Shepherd dog was referred with a history of chronic regurgitation along with normal appetite and diagnosis of megaesophagus on plain radiography. Clinical examination revealed normothermia, normocardia, normopnea, low body condition score and poor hair coat. The most important laboratory findings include anemia, azotemia, hyperlipidemia, increased thyroid stimulating hormone, decreased thyroxine and hypocortisolemia, as well as a marked increase in acetylcholine receptor antibody concentration. Based on the results, in addition to primary hypothyroidism and primary hypoadrenocorticism, myasthenia gravis was also diagnosed as an underlying cause of megaesophagus. Following nursing care and preferred treatment of each disease, the megaesophagus was resolved in the next visit. This clinical report describes for the first time, to the authors’ knowledge, a dog with a rare type of autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (APS) known in human medicine as a Schmidt’s syndrome. We want to emphasize the importance of clinicians’ awareness regarding the possibility of APS to identify different diseases caused by it in order to achieve successful treatment.