Cardiac tamponade secondary to hemorrhagic pericardial effiision in five dogs


Published: Nov 29, 2017
Keywords:
cardiac tamponade hemorrhagic pericardial effusion dog
C. G. HATZIGIANNAKIS (Χ.Γ. ΧΑΤΖΗΓΙΑΝΝΑΚΗΣ)
M. E. MYLONAKIS (Μ. Ε. ΜΥΛΩΝΑΚΗΣ)
M. N. SARIDOMICHELAKIS (Μ.Ν. ΣΑΡΙΔΟΜΙΧΕΛΑΚΗΣ)
M. PATSIKAS (Μ. ΠΑΤΣΙΚΑΣ)
D. PSALLA (Δ. ΨΑΛΛΑ)
A. F. KOUTINAS (Α.Φ. ΚΟΥΤΙΝΑΣ)
Abstract

A 7-year old female collie (case 1), a 3-year old male Caucasian-cross (case 2) and three male German shepherds with an age of 11 (case 3), 8.5 (case 4) and 10 (case 5) years, respectively, were admitted with a history of decreased appetite, depression, exercise intolerance, dyspnea and progressive abdominal enlargement, for the last 10 to 60 days. Poor body condition (5/5), muffled heart sounds (5/5), weak femoral pulse (5/5), ascites (5/5), inspiratory or inspiratory-expiratory dyspnea (5/5), pulsus paradoxus (2/5) and jugular vein distension (2/5) were the prominent clinical findings, while mature neutrophilic leukocytosis (3/5), lymphopenia (3/5), eosinopenia (3/5), hypoproteinemia (5/5) and increased urea nitrogen (3/5) were the most prevalent clinicopathologic abnormalities. Apart from a space-occupying lesion onto the right atrial wall of one dog (case 4), radiographic and ultrasound examination showed a globe-shaped cardiac silhouette (5/5), pericardial effusion (5/5), ascites (5/5) and pleural effusion (4/5). A large amount of non-clotting hemorrhagic effusion was drained during pericardiocentesis, resulting in rapid clinical recovery. Physical, chemical and cytological evaluation of the pericardial fluid was non-contributory in the differentiation between neoplastic and non-neoplastic causes of these effusions. Case 3 died 25 days post-pericardiocentesis; right atrium hemangiosarcoma and pulmonary metastases were documented on post mortem histopathological examination. Another dog (case 5) died of unknown causes one month after pericardiocentensis. On the contrary, dogs 1, 2 and 4 were still clinically healthy for a followup period of 16, 2 and 8 months, respectively.

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