Carla Civitella

Serum Cardiac Troponin I Concentration in Dogs with Precapillary and Postcapillary Pulmonary Hypertension

BACKGROUND Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a disease condition leading to right-sided cardiac hypertrophy and, eventually, right-sided heart failure. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a circulating biomarker of cardiac damage. HYPOTHESIS Myocardial damage can occur in dogs with precapillary and postcapillary PH. ANIMALS One hundred and thirty-three dogs were examined: 26 healthy controls, 42 dogs with mitral valve disease (MVD) without PH, 48 dogs with pulmonary hypertension associated with mitral valve disease (PH-MVD), and 17 dogs with precapillary PH. METHODS Prospective, observational study. Serum cTnI concentration was measured with a commercially available immunoassay and results were compared between groups. RESULTS Median cTnI was 0.10 ng/mL (range 0.10-0.17 ng/mL) in healthy dogs. Compared with the healthy population, median serum cTnI concentration was increased in dogs with precapillary PH (0.25 ng/mL; range 0.10-1.9 ng/mL; P < .001) and in dogs with PH-MVD (0.21 ng/mL; range 0.10-2.10 ng/mL; P < .001). Median serum cTnI concentration of dogs with MVD (0.12 ng/mL; range 0.10-1.00 ng/mL) was not significantly different compared with control group and dogs with PH-MVD. In dogs with MVD and PH-MVD, only the subgroup with decompensated PH-MVD had significantly higher cTnI concentration compared with dogs with compensated MVD and PH-MVD. Serum cTnI concentration showed significant modest positive correlations with the calculated pulmonary artery systolic pressure in dogs with PH and some echocardiographic indices in dogs with MVD and PH-MVD. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Serum cTnI is high in dogs with either precapillary and postcapillary PH. Myocardial damage in dogs with postcapillary PH is likely the consequence of increased severity of MVD.

Irreversible pulmonary hypertension associated with Troglostrongylus brevior infection in a kitten.

A four month-old kitten was referred at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Teramo, Italy. Physical examination, echocardiography, thoracic radiography, copromicroscopy and biomolecular assays led to a diagnosis of severe parasitic bronchopneumonia by Troglostrongylus brevior complicated by pulmonary hypertension. A single administration of a spot on solution containing imidacloprid 10%/moxidectin 1% was effective in stopping larval shedding but clinical, radiographic and echocardiographic signs of bronchopneumonia and pulmonary hypertension still persisted after further follow-ups.While cases of pulmonary hypertension are known in infections by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, this is the first report of irreversible pulmonary hypertension in a kitten with troglostrongylosis.

Haemodynamic effects in healthy horses treated with an ACE-inhibitor (Ramipril).

Luciani, A., Civitella, C., Santori, D., Sconza, S. and Guglielmini, C. 2007. Haemodynamic effects in healthy horses treated with an ACE-inhibitor (ramipril). Veterinary Research Communications, 31(Suppl. 1), 297–299

Accelerated Idioventricular Rhythm in 9 Dogs

Accelerated idioventricular rhythm (AIVR) is an ectopic cardiac rhythm characterized by three or more consecutive premature ventricular complexes with a faster rate than the normal ventricular intrinsic escape rate of 30 to 40 bpm, but slower than the rate of ventricular tachycardia (VT) (Grimm and Marchlinski, 2000). Accelerated idioventricular rhythm is usually associated with abnormalities of the ventricular myocardium and altered automatism of the Purkinje’s fibres is thought to be the underlying electrophysiological mechanism (Olgin and Zipes, 2001). The difference between VT and AIVR depends on the rate at which the ectopic focus depolarizes (Grimm and Marchlinski, 2000; Olgin and Zipes, 2001). In humans, a heart rate limit of 110–120 bpm has been established as a cut-off for differentiating AIVR from VT (Grimm and Marchlinski, 2000). In the dog, an exact demarcation between AIVR and VT cannot be precisely established, owing to the extreme variability of the normal heart rate in this species. Some authors, after experimental induction of AIVR by injecting the myocardium of normal dogs with formalin, considered a ventricular rate limit of around 180 bpm to differentiate between VT and AIVR (Vassalle et al., 1977; Ilvento et al., 1982). Conversely, upper limits ranging from 110 to 160 bpm have been reported in veterinary textbooks based on subject size (Kittleson, 1998; Moı̈se, 1999; Coté and Ettinger, 2005). Owing to the scarce description of specific cases of AIVR in the canine literature, the aim of this paper is to report the clinical findings and outcome for nine dogs with AIVR recently brought to our attention.

Evaluation of the cardiac toxicity of N-methyl-glucamine antimoniate in dogs with naturally occurring leishmaniasis ☆

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiotoxic effects of pentavalent antimonial compounds in dogs with leishmaniasis. Twenty-eight dogs with clinical disease due to natural infection with Leishmania infantum were treated with 75 mg/kg meglumine antimoniate SC every 12h for 60 days. Serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations were determined and routine and 24h ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring was performed before the onset (T0) and at the end of treatment (T60). No abnormalities were found in routine and 24h electrocardiographic tracings before and after treatment. No statistical difference was found between serum cTnI concentrations or corrected QT intervals at T0 and T60. There was no evidence of laboratory or electrocardiographic features of cardiac toxicity in dogs with leishmaniasis treated with a therapeutic dose of meglumine antimoniate for 60 days.

Metastatic pericardial tumors in a dog with equivocal pericardial cytological findings.

A metastatic tumor associated with pericardial effusion was diagnosed in a 6-year-old, female, mixed-breed dog. Echocardiography identified multiple echogenic masses adherent to both visceral and parietal pericardium, while results of pericardial fluid cytology were non-diagnostic. The distribution pattern of the masses is remarkable in that they protruded from both pericardial surfaces, rather than one, and demonstrated an oscillatory motion during the cardiac cycle. Pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of multiple metastatic tumors of the pericardium, with the primary tumor being an anaplastic gastric adenocarcinoma.

Evaluation of the cardiovascular effects of an anaesthetic protocol for immobilization and anaesthesia in grey wolves (Canis lupus L, 1758).

Pharmacological immobilization and general anaesthesia are necessary for the sanitary management of wild species in many circumstances, such as those related to the accomplishment of prophylactic measures or surgical procedures. Many of the anaesthetic protocols reported in the literature for wolves are based on the use of α2-adrenoceptor agonists (xylazine and medetomidine) and cyclohexamines (ketamine and tiletamine). However, their use is associated with side effects including hypertension and unwanted persistence of pharmacological effects (Kreeger, 1999). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cardiovascular effect of a new anaesthetic protocol in wild canids.

Superoxide Dismutase and Glutathione Peroxidase in Dogs with Leishmaniasis Following Antimoniate Therapy

The effect of antimony treatment on antioxidative enzyme activities of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and blood glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) and the associations between these enzyme activities and hematological indices of anemia (pre- and posttreatment) was studied in dogs with leishmaniasis. Twelve dogs with leishmaniasis before and after 60 days of therapy with N-methylglucamine antimoniate were used. No significant differences in antioxidant SOD and GSHPx activities or hematological indices, including HGB level, RBC number, HCT, MCV, MCH, and MCHC, were detected between pre- and post-antimony treatment. Results indicated that the presence or absence of previous treatment with antimony had no statistically identifiable effects on antioxidant enzyme activity or hematological indices.