Monoclonal gammopathy associated with multiple myeloma and visceral leishmaniasis in the dog: A comparison of two cases

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Prevalence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in feline population examined by the osservatorio italiano HCM felina

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common feline inherited cardiac disease and it is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The Osservatorio Italiano HCM Felina was formed in 2008 by a network of clinicians, geneticists and breedings to monitor and study HCM in Italian cats. Since April 2008, 1308 adult cats, belonging to various breeds, including Maine Coon, Siberian, Norwegian Forest Cat, Ragdoll, Sphynx, British SH, Birmans and others have been prospectively enrolled. Recheck evaluations were performed in 287 cats. Each cat underwent a clinical examination, echocardiography, and blood collection for genetic testing (when appropriate) and storage in the Italian Feline Biobank. The disease status was defined by echocardiography according to established guidelines (left ventricular diastolic wall thickness<5.5mm = HCM negative, =5.5 but < 6mm = HCM equivocal, = 6mm = HCM positive). The prevalence of HCM in the population was 6% (74 cats); equivocal diagnoses were conferred on 4% (57 cats). These prevalences did not differ between breeds. The prevalence of HCM in the Italian feline population was lower compared to those reported by other investigators. Evaluation of data from the entire population demonstrated that left ventricular end-diastolic wall thickness and aortic diameter showed a weak positive correlation with body weight (p< 0.0001, r2<0.12 for all variables), suggesting that weight-dependent limits on wall thickness should be considered in cats as is currently practiced in dogs. The lower prevalence of HCM in Italian cat breeds compared with those examined elsewhere might be explained by different criteria for determining presence or absence of disease, differences in ages at which the subject were examined, or a selection bias by breeders in presenting cats they consider \u201cnormal\u201d

Ketamine as a part of anaesthetic management in a dog with twiddler's syndrome

An 11-year-old male German shepherd dog was referred for possible pacemaker implantation. A routine 6-lead electrocardiogram revealed a third-degree atrio-ventricular block with a heart rate of 40 to 45beats/minute. A transvenous pacemaker implantation procedure was scheduled. The dog was premedicated with 10 μg/kg acepromazine and 5 mg/kg pethidine. A dose of 5 mg/kg ketamine and 0·2mg/kg diazepam were used for induction and isoflurane in O2 and a constant rate infusion of ketamine (20 to 30 μg/kg/minute) were administered for maintenance of general anaesthesia. Due to a twiddler's syndrome, the pacemaker had to be repositioned. For the second procedure, the same protocol was employed except for a lower dose of ketamine both for induction (3 mg/kg) and constant rate infusion (10 to 15 μg/kg/minute). Ketamine appeared to be useful for both management of anaesthesia and cardiac pacemaker implantation in the absence of a temporary pacemake

Valvuloplastica con palloncino ecoguidata in un cane affetto da stenosi polmonare.

An Italian hound dog, female, 2 years old, with pulmonic valve stenosis was treated by balloon valvuloplasty. Transthoracic echocardiographic examination was carried out to make the diagnosis, to determine pulmonic annulus size, to calculate the dimensions of the balloon required for the treatment and to make a Doppler study of the trans-pulmonic blood flow before and after the balloon dilatation. Echocardiography was carried out also to evaluate the possibility to perform valvuloplasty in veterinary medicine solely under a non-invasive guidance and not under fluoroscopy, similarly to that was already observed in human medicine

Transthoracic ultrasound guided balloon dilation of cor triatriatum dexter in 2 Rottweiler puppies

Balloon dilation was performed in two Rottweiler puppies with cor triatriatum dexter and clinical signs of ascites using transthoracic echocardiographic guidance. The dogs were positioned on a standard echocardiography table in right lateral recumbency, and guide wires and balloon catheters were imaged by echocardiographic views optimized to allow visualization of the defect. The procedures were performed successfully without complications and clinical signs were resolved completely in both cases. Guide wires and balloon catheters appeared hyperechoic on transthoracic echocardiography image and could be clearly monitored and guided in real-time. These two cases demonstrate that it is possible to perform balloon catheter dilation of cor triatriatum dexter under transthoracic guidance alone

Insufficienze valvolari nel cavallo: casistica personale (2005-2011).

Introduzione e scopo - Le patologie cardiache acquisite più comuni nel cavallo sono le insufficienze valvolari che possono essere individuate sia nei soggetti giovani che anziani. Lo scopo di questo studio retrospettivo è quello di valutare la prevalenza delle diverse patologie valvolari in cavalli riferiti al Dipartimento di Clinica Veterinaria, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria di Pisa, a causa di scarso rendimento atletico/intolleranza all’esercizio, negli anni 2005-2011. Materiali e metodi - In questo studio retrospettivo sono stati analizzati i dati relativi alle visite cardiologiche effettuate su 79 cavalli adulti. Tutti i soggetti sono stati sottoposti a esame obiettivo generale e particolare dell’apparato cardiocircolatorio, elettrocardiogramma ed ecocardiografia. Su alcuni cavalli è stato registrato anche l’elettrocardiogramma sotto sforzo. L’ecocardiografia Doppler effettuata in tutti i soggetti ha permesso di valutare i flussi transvalvolari al fine di evidenziare la presenza di insufficienze delle valvole cardiache. Risultati - Dei 79 cavalli esaminati, l’81% non erano affetti da patologie cardiocircolatorie. In 15/79 (19%) soggetti sono state diagnosticate patologie cardiache funzionali e/o alterazioni morfologiche. Due dei 79 cavalli (2,5%) presentavano patologie cardiache non valvolari. Dei 13 cavalli con insufficienze valvolari 1/79 (1,3%) presentava insufficienza mitralica (IM), 3/79 (3,8%) insufficienza aortica (IA), 2/79 (2,5%) insufficienza tricuspidale (IT), 1/79 (1,3%) IM e IA, 2/79 (2,5%) IM e IT, 1/79 (1,3%) IA e IT, 1/79 (1,3%) IM e insufficienza polmonare (IP), 1/79 (1,3%) IM, IA e IP, 1/79 (1,3%) IM, IA e IT. Conclusioni - Le insufficienze valvolari rappresentano le patologie cardiache acquisite più comuni nel cavallo. Nei 13 soggetti affetti da patologie valvolari cardiache, è stato possibile diagnosticare 7 IA (31,8%), 7 IM (31,8%), 6 IT (27,3%) e 2 IP (9,1%). Possiamo pertanto concludere che, l’IM e l’IA risultano essere le patologie valvolari di più frequente riscontro, mentre l’IT e l’IP risultano reperti occasional

Mini-invasive approach for removal of iliopsoas migrating grass awns with an atraumatic wound retractor

This case series describes a novel mini coeliotomy approach using a radial, atraumatic self-retaining retractor for the retrieval of migrant plant foreign bodies from the iliopsoas muscles of six male dogs under intra-operative ultrasonographic guidance. Four dogs had a history of pulmonary disease potentially compatible with inhalation of a foreign body approximately 2–4 months before presentation. Under ultrasonographic guidance, the grass awns were identified in the iliopsoas muscle and were completely removed. In this case series, the annular ring device provided an excellent view of the surgical field for intra-abdominal manipulations. Patient follow-up at 15 days and 6 to 12 months after surgery indicated a full recovery, and no grass awn fragment residues were identified

Treatment of chronic atril fibrillation in the horse with flecainide: personal observation.

Atrial fibrillation is a disturbance of the cardiac rhythm associated with poor perfor- mance in athletic horses. Quinidine is the drug of choice for restoring sinus rhythm in horses because of its high success rate (85%) in cases with no anatomical lesions of the atrial myocardium. However, side effects and adverse effects are commonly reported with quinidine cardioversion. Nose-gastric administration is frequently associated with nasal mucosal edema, urticaria, paraphymosis, hypotension, colic and diarrhea. Further- more, proarrhythmic effects of quinidine can induce rapid ventricular tachycardia (Btorsade des pointes^) and sudden death. Therefore, pharmaceutical alternatives to quinidine, with less side effects and similar efficacy, would be desirable. Flecainide has been found to be well tolerated and easy to administer and preliminary studies in horses with induced AF and acute AF suggested that it is effective in restoring sinus rhythm (Ohmura et al., 2000, 2001). Flecainide is an antyarrhythmic agent of Vaughan- Williams class IC which strictly binds to and blocks the fast Na-channel, decreasing maximum velocity of depolarization during phase 0 and prolonging the action potentials in the atrial and ventricular myocardium and in the Purkinje fibers. This results in slow- ing of the conduction through these structures, particularly within the His-Purkinje sys- tem. Electrocardiographically the P-R interval and the QRS duration prolong, as does the Q-T interval, even though shortening of the J-T interval (from the end of the QRS to the end of the T wave) is commonly seen. A recent clinical study of 10 horses with natural occurring AF treated with flecainide found that just one horse converted to sinus rhythm, while the remainder were cardioverted using the Bclassical^ quinidine protocol 273 274 (Van Loon et al., 2004). The aim of the present study was to focus on the effectiveness and safety of flecainide in horses with chronic atrial fibrillation that were not amenable to quinidine cardioversion