The adult worms of Angiostrongylus vasorum reside in the pulmonary artery of dogs and can lead to cardiac, respiratory, and central neurologic signs. Due to luminal obstruction and perivascular ...inflammation of the pulmonary artery branches, pulmonary hypertension can arise. Pulmonary hypertension, in turn, can lead to severe damage of the right-sided cardiac structures, leading to right ventricular remodeling and tricuspid valve regurgitation.
An 8-year-old neutered female English Cocker Spaniel was presented to the author's institution because of abdominal distention and exercise intolerance. Ascites caused by congestive right-sided heart failure was found to be responsible for these problems. The underlying etiology of the right-sided heart failure was a severe pulmonary hypertension caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum infection. Echocardiography revealed, in addition to a severe concentric and eccentric right ventricular hypertrophy, right atrial and pulmonary trunk dilation, severe tricuspid valve regurgitation, and a systolic flail of the anterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve, resulting from ruptured chordae tendineae. As a coincidental finding, a congenital mitral stenosis was found. Oral therapy was initiated with daily administration of fenbendazole for 2 weeks along with daily administration of oral sildenafil until the re-check examination. At the 6-week re-check the dog showed full clinical and partial echocardiographic recovery, and both the blood antigen test for Angiostrongylus vasorum and the fecal Baermann larva isolation test were negative. When the sildenafil therapy was ceased after tapering the daily dosage, the owner reported recurrence of abdominal distension. Re-starting the sildenafil therapy resulted in resolution of this problem. The dog was reported to be clinically healthy with daily sildenafil administration 7 months after the initial presentation.
The present case report describes a dog where angiostrongylosis led to congestive right-sided heart failure resulting from severe pulmonary hypertension. The secondary right ventricular eccentric hypertrophy together with suspected papillary muscular ischemia were the suspected cause of the ruptured major tricuspid chordae tendineae, which led to a severe tricuspid valve regurgitation. Despite eradication of the worms, the severe pulmonary hypertension persisted. Treatment with daily oral sildenafil, a pulmonary arterial vasodilator, was enough to keep the dog free of clinically apparent ascites.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In the present case report, we describe the clinical course and postmortem findings of a 12-year-old Labrador retriever dog with a third-degree atrio-ventricular block that developed a chronic cough, ...and later dyspnea and weakness as a result of massive pulmonary thromboembolism 3 years after implantation of a transvenous permanent pacemaker. A large soft tissue mass was seen in the right ventricular chamber around the pacing lead with echocardiography. Initially, this was thought to be caused by mural bacterial endocarditis based on hyperthermia, severe leukocytosis and the appearance of runs of ventricular tachycardia, the latter suggesting myocardial damage. While blood culture results were pending, antibiotics were administered without a positive effect. Due to clinical deterioration, the owner elected for euthanasia and a post-mortem examination confirmed a right ventricular thrombus and surrounding myocarditis, without signs of bacterial infection, and a massive pulmonary thromboembolism. We conclude that pulmonary thromboembolism should be considered in dogs with a cough that have an endocardial pacing lead implanted. Serial screening for proteinuria before and after implantation of an endocardial pacing lead would allow timely initiation of prophylactic antiplatelet therapy. Local myocarditis can develop secondary to an intracavitary thrombus, which can subsequently lead to runs of ventricular tachycardia.
•54 dogs underwent a trans-catheter occlusion of a patent ductus arteriosus.•None developed endocarditis without intra-procedural antibiotic prophylaxis.•Antibiotic prophylaxis is not needed to ...prevent implant-related endocarditis.
Intra- and post-procedural prophylactic antibiotics are routinely administered by veterinary cardiologists to dogs that undergo trans-catheter embolization of a patent ductus arteriosus for prevention of implant-related infective endocarditis. The hypothesis of our study was that primary antibiotic prophylaxis is not necessary to prevent bacterial endocarditis. In this retrospective case series 54 client-owned dogs that underwent trans-catheter occlusion of a patent ductus arteriosus in a single tertiary veterinary referral center between 2004 and 2016 were evaluated. Follow-up information was gained by telephone interviews with the owners or the referring veterinarians, or from the digital archives of the authors’ clinic. Inclusion criteria were that at least one metal implant (a coil or an Amplatz duct occluder) had to be delivered in the ductal ampulla, no local or systemic antibiotics were given on the day of the intervention or the week thereafter, at least 3 months of postoperative follow-up information was available, and the author was performing the procedure either as the primary or as the supervising cardiology specialist. None of the 54 dogs developed infective endocarditis in the postoperative 3 months. A study describing a similar population reports 2 of the included 47 dogs having developed infective endocarditis in the postoperative period despite the administration of intra- and post-procedural prophylactic antibiotics. We conclude that intra- and post-procedural antibiotic prophylaxis is not justified in dogs that undergo trans-catheter closure of a patent ductus arteriosus. Proper surgical technique and the use of new sterile catheters and implants are sufficient to prevent infective endocarditis in these dogs.
Severe dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (DLVOTO) secondary to the systolic anterior motion of the septal mitral valve leaflet (SAM) can result either from congenital mitral valve ...disorders or left ventricular concentric hypertrophy of any cause, in cats commonly hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Though HCM cannot be reversed, the question remains whether atenolol can cure cats with severe DLVOTO resulting from a presumed mitral valve dysplasia.
In this retrospective case series, client-owned asymptomatic cats younger than 1.5 years with echocardiographic evidence of SAM and severe DLVOTO were included. Oral atenolol therapy and recheck echocardiography after 2-3 months were recommended. The owners and referring veterinarians were called for long-term follow-up information.
Of the 28 included cats, 23 were treated with atenolol. Recheck echocardiography performed in 17 cats showed a resolution of SAM in 47%. In the long term, SAM remained absent in only 9% of the treated cats. Cardiac-related death occurred in 26% of the atenolol-treated cats.
The long term benefit of twice-daily atenolol therapy was documented in 9% of cats. Whether the cats where atenolol failed to resolve DLVOTO on long-term had HCM, or a therapy-resistant congenital primary mitral valve disorder remains unclear.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Though spontaneous closure of isolated congenital ventricular septal defects in humans is very common, it has been rarely reported in dogs.
A 4 month old Havanese dog and a 4.5 month old Chihuahua x ...Jack Russell terrier cross were presented for murmur evaluation to the authors' institution. Both puppies were clinically healthy and had a loud systolic murmur on the right hemithorax. Echocardiography in both dogs revealed a small, isolated, restrictive perimembranous congenital ventricular septal defect. No echocardiographic signs of left ventricular volume overload or pulmonary hypertension were present. Re-check auscultation in both dogs revealed the absence of a murmur, and echocardiography showed no flow through the interventricular septum. In the 9 kg Havanese dog and the 4 kg mixed breed dog, spontaneous closure occurred at 13-17 months and 12-30 months, respectively.
In both dogs the spontaneous closure of a congenital perimembranous ventricular septal defect took place in a young adult age. The mechanism of closure remains unclear.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Background
Cardiac auscultation is an important screening test at the first health examination of puppies because most clinically relevant congenital cardiac anomalies cause a loud murmur ...from birth. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the age at which dogs with suspected congenital cardiac anomalies were referred to a veterinary cardiology specialist for murmur investigation. A secondary aim was to establish the time interval between the visit to the cardiologist and the first available murmur documentation. The digital archive of a veterinary teaching hospital was searched for dogs with congenital cardiac anomalies and puppies with innocent murmurs during a 5-year period. Dogs had to be referred because of a murmur, and they had to undergo physical examination and echocardiography by a veterinary cardiology specialist. The health certificate section of the pet passport, and the medical records from the referring veterinarian, were reviewed to identify the date when the murmur was first documented.
Results
Of the 271 included dogs, 94% had a congenital cardiac anomaly and 6% had an innocent murmur. The dogs’ median age was 190 days when they were examined by the cardiologist. Only 10% of the dogs were referred by the breeder’s veterinarian, while 90% of the dogs were referred by the new owner’s veterinarian. The median age of the first available murmur documentation by a first opinion veterinary practitioner was 95 days.
Conclusions
Only 10% of the puppies in the present study were referred to a veterinary cardiology specialist for murmur investigation before they were sold to a new owner. Referral prior to re-homing would have been feasible if the murmur had been detected and documented by the breeder’s veterinarian, if referral was offered by the breeder’s veterinarian and the referral was accepted by the breeder.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Background
The frequency that cardiac murmurs are identified and recorded in first opinion veterinary practices at the first health check in puppies is unknown. The aims of the study were to ...assess the agreement between first opinion veterinary practitioners, a veterinary student and a veterinary cardiology specialist on detecting murmurs, and to establish whether abnormal auscultation findings had been recorded in the health certificates of clinically healthy puppies. The study included prospective and retrospective investigations, where the prospectively collected auscultation findings from a veterinary cardiology specialist and a trained veterinary student were compared to auscultation findings recorded by first opinion veterinary practitioners.
Results
Cardiac auscultation was performed on 331 client-owned, clinically healthy dogs at two time points: at age 34–69 days by a first opinion veterinary practitioner and at age 45–76 days, on average 9 days later, by a veterinary cardiology specialist and a trained veterinary student. Agreement among the three was compared for the presence of a murmur. The degree of inter-observer agreement was evaluated using Cohen’s kappa. Auscultation findings, as noted in the pets’ passports, from 331 puppies and 43 different first opinion veterinary practices, were retrospectively reviewed and prospectively compared with auscultation findings from a veterinary cardiology specialist. Agreement between the veterinary cardiology specialist and the first opinion veterinary practitioners was poor (ϰ = 0.01) and significantly different (P < 0.001). First opinion veterinary practitioners had recorded a cardiac murmur in only 1 of the 97 puppies in which the veterinary cardiology specialist detected a murmur. Two-hundred-and-fifty-two puppies were auscultated by both the veterinary cardiology specialist and the student. Their agreement was fair (ϰ = 0.40) and significantly different (P = 0.024). The agreement between the student and a first opinion veterinary practitioner on these 252 puppies was poor (ϰ = 0.03) and significantly different (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
This study shows that soft cardiac murmurs are rarely documented during the first veterinary health check in puppies by first opinion veterinary practitioners. Although soft murmurs may not be clinically relevant, finding and recording them is evidence of a carefully performed auscultation. Missing a non-pathological murmur is not of clinical importance; however, missing a pathological murmur could prove detrimental for the individual puppy.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Dirofilaria immitis is responsible for heartworm disease in dogs in endemic areas worldwide. Screening for this infection is done by blood tests. Antigen testing is the most sensitive method to ...detect an infection with adult (female) worms. Microscopic examination of a blood smear or Knott's test can be used to detect circulating microfilariae, the infective larvae. To increase the sensitivity of the antigen test by decreasing the false negative test results, heating of the blood sample has been recommended in recent guidelines. Heating is believed to remove blocking immune-complexes. Circulating microfilariae are not specific findings for heartworm infection, as other nematodes (among others, Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides) can also result in microfilaremia. Although the type of microfilariae cannot be determined by microscopy alone, real-time PCR can reliably identify the infecting nematode species. Correct identification of the parasite is of major importance, as an infection with D. immitis requires antiparasitic therapy, whereas A. dracunculoides is thought to be a clinically irrelevant coincidental finding. The present case report describes a microfilaremic dog where the initial antigen test for D. immitis turned positive after heat treatment, whereas real-time PCR revealed that the microfilariae were A. dracunculoides (syn. Dipetalonema dracunculoides).
A circa 5-year old, asymptomatic Spanish mastiff dog was referred for heartworm therapy because microfilariae were found via a screening blood test. The dog was recently imported to the Netherlands from Spain, where it had been a stray dog. Antigen tests on a plasma sample for D. immitis were performed with three different test kits, which all turned out to be negative. However, heat treatment of two of these samples were carried out and both of them led to a positive antigen test result. Real-time PCR showed that the circulating microfilariae belonged to A. dracunculoides species. Three administrations of moxidectin spot-on at monthly intervals resulted in a negative antigen and a negative Knott's tests one month after the last treatment.
We conclude that heat treatment of initially negative blood samples for D. immitis could lead to false positive antigen test results if the dog is infected with A. dracunculoides.
A 3-year-old Chihuahua was presented because of exercise intolerance, respiratory distress, and syncopal episodes. At the age of 10 weeks, the dog was diagnosed with a congenital small left-to-right ...shunting ventricular septal defect and a mild right ventricular outflow tract obstruction via echocardiography. At that time, the dog was asymptomatic, but the breeder's veterinarian heard a murmur. Both cardiac defects were judged to be clinically non-relevant at that time. However, at 3 years of age, echocardiography revealed a severe right ventricular obstruction, known as a double-chambered right ventricle, along with right-to-left shunting via the ventricular septal defect. Because of chronic hypoxemia due to the right-to-left shunting, erythrocytosis developed. Flow reversal via the shunt was caused by a progressively worsening right ventricular obstruction leading to a supra-systemic right ventricular systolic pressure. Because of the poor prognosis, the dog was euthanized, and the heart was submitted for post-mortem examination. Gross pathologic findings revealed the close proximity of the right ventricular obstructive lesion to the ventricular septal defect. Histopathology revealed localized muscular hypertrophy and severe endocardial fibrosis. The suspected pathogenesis of the progressive obstruction was infiltrative myocardial fibrosis due to turbulent blood flow from the left-to-right shunting ventricular septal defect, as described in humans.
PDF
