Comparison of Focused Cardiac Ultrasound Findings in Lateral Versus Sternal Recumbency in Cats

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Focused Cardiac Ultrasound to Detect Pre-capillary Pulmonary Hypertension

peer reviewedBackgroundEarly recognition of pre-capillary (PC) pulmonary hypertension (PH) benefits dogs, allowing earlier treatment and improving prognosis. The value of focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU) to diagnose PH and assess its severity has not been investigated yet.HypothesisA subjective 10-point FCU pulmonary hypertension score (PHS) allows diagnosis and assessment of severity of PCPH.AnimalsThis study involved fifty client-owned dogs.MethodsDogs, recruited between September 2017 and February 2020, were classified into four categories (no, mild, moderate, and severe PH; C1 to C4, respectively). C1 and C2, and C3 and C4 were regrouped as group 1 and group 2, respectively. A blinded general practitioner assessed four FCU cineloops. Five echocardiographic parameters were subjectively scored, resulting in a total score of 0–10. Non-parametric tests compared global scores between categories and groups. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve determined the cutoff value to differentiate group 1 and group 2. A gray zone approach allowed diagnosing or excluding moderate to severe PH with 90% certitude.ResultsGlobal scores were significantly higher for C4 than for C1, C2, and C3. Global scores of G2 were significantly higher than G1. The ROC curve indicated a cutoff value of 5, discriminating group 1 from group 2 with a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 100%. A score of ≥5/10 allowed diagnosing moderate to severe PH with ≥90% certainty while a score of ≤2/10 excluded PH with ≥90% certainty.Conclusions and Clinical SignificanceModerate to severe PCPH can be accurately detected by non-cardiologists using a 10-point FCU PHS score

Left Ventricular Eccentricity Index for Assessment of Precapillary Pulmonary Hypertension in Dogs

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RIGHT HEART PARAMETER SCORING TO ASSESS PRECAPILLARY PULMONARY HYPERTENSION IN DOGS

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PILOT STUDY ON CAUDAL VENA CAVA SIZE BY FAST ULTRASONOGRAPHY THROUGH DIFFERENT VIEWS IN HEALTHY CALVES.

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Mitral endocarditis secondary to Listeria monocytogenes in a dog

peer reviewedA Beauceron was evaluated for a 3-week history of unresponsive immune-mediated polyarthritis and meningitis. Physical examination revealed a previously unreported grade III/VI left apical systolic heart murmur. Based on the echocardiographic examination and blood culture, a diagnosis of mitral valve infective endocarditis secondary to Listeria monocytogenes was made. Despite extensive workup, no definitive primary focus of infection was identified in this case. The endocarditis was suspected to have triggered secondary immune-mediated polyarthritis and meningitis. The dog was treated with empirical antimicrobial combination therapy and immunosuppressives, and fully recovered from infection. No relapse was documented 5 months after discontinuation of treatment. Cardiomegaly secondary to persistent mitral regurgitation had developed. This is the first description of endocarditis secondary to L. monocytogenes in a dog

Ultrasonographical Assessment of Caudal Vena Cava Size through Different Views in Healthy Calves: A Pilot Study

peer reviewedUltrasonographic measurements of the caudal vena cava (CVC) and aorta (Ao) are known as reliable tools to assess intravascular volume status in humans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of obtaining ultrasonographical measurements of CVC and Ao in two different views, assess intra- and interobserver variability, and study the effect of sex, age, body weight, and breed on measurements in healthy calves. The diameter and area of CVC and Ao were measured by a single investigator in two anatomic sites (subxiphoid and paralumbar window) in 48 calves aged less than 60 days and then repeated 2.5 months after the first assessment. For intra- and interobserver variability assessment, CVC and Ao measurements were repeated by three observers on five randomly selected calves. CVC and Ao measurements were easily obtained in PV and more difficult to obtain in SV. CVC and Ao area in PV showed high repeatability and reproducibility. A positive correlation was highlighted between age and CVC and Ao measurements in both sites. In conclusion, CVC size assessment by point of care ultrasound can be easily performed at a paralumbar site in calves under 4 months of age and could be used to assess intravascular volume status

Cardiovascular biomarkers in dogs with systemic inflammatory response syndrome

To measure plasma N-terminal fragments of pro-B-type natriuretic peptides (NT-proBNP) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) concentration in hospitalized dogs and relate these markers to underlying conditions and evaluate their potential as prognostic markers in dogs with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Genome wide association study of 40 clinical measurements in eight dog breeds

The domestic dog represents an ideal model for identifying susceptibility genes, many of which are shared with humans. In this study, we investigated the genetic contribution to individual differences in 40 clinically important measurements by a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a multinational cohort of 472 healthy dogs from eight breeds. Meta-analysis using the binary effects model after breed-specific GWAS, identified 13 genome-wide significant associations, three of them showed experimental-wide significant associations. We detected a signal at chromosome 13 for the serum concentration of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in which we detected four breed-specific signals. A large proportion of the variance of ALT (18.1-47.7%) was explained by this locus. Similarly, a single SNP was also responsible for a large proportion of the variance (6.8-78.4%) for other measurements such as fructosamine, stress during physical exam, glucose, and morphometric measurements. The genetic contribution of single variant was much larger than in humans. These findings illustrate the importance of performing meta-analysis after breed-specific GWAS to reveal the genetic contribution to individual differences in clinically important measurements, which would lead to improvement of veterinary medicine.Peer reviewe